vV 





'^Mm jr-: ^'^^^^' 



K^iWjf/ ^i 



GRASSES 



FORAGE PLANTS. 

A PRACTICAL TREATISE, 

COMPRISING 

THEIR NATURAL HISTORY; COMPARATIVE NUTRITIVE VALUE ; METHODS 
OF CULTIVATING, CUTTING, AND CURING; AND THE MANAGE- 
MENT OF GRASS LANDS IN THE UNITED STATES 
AND BRITISH PROVINCES. 



CHARLES L. FLINT, 

SECRETABT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE BOARD OF AORICULTrRE ! MEMBER OP THE 

BOSTON SOCIETV OF NATUKAL HISTORY ; AUTHOR OF A TREATISE 

ON "MILCH COWS AND DAIRY FARMING," 

ETC. ETC. 



WITH ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FOURTH EDITION, 

REVISED AND ENLABGED. 

BOSTON: 
PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY, 

13 Winter Stkeet. 

18 5 9, 



16 5"^ CO 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 

CHARLES L. FLINT, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massacbugetts. 






EleetTotjpel hj 
HOBART b R0BBIN8, 

New England Type and Stereotype Founders, 



PRINTED BY R. M. EDWARDS. 



PREFACE 



The object of the following pages is to embody 
the most recent practical and scientific information 
on the history, culture, and nutritive value, of the 
grasses and the grains. To make the work practi- 
cally useful, I have treated the subject with plain- 
ness and simplicity, so far as it admits of it, and 
have at least indicated to the reader the vast field 
of study which lies open before him in this direction. 

The large number of illustrations of the different 
species of grasses, drawn, as they have been, with 
great care and accuracy, will serve to facilitate the 
study and identification of unknown specimens. Most 
of these appeared in the first and second editions of 
the work. I have added to this edition a few, drawn 
by Professor I. A. Lapham, of Milwaukie. 

In treating the subject from an economical point 
of view, I have tried to give what is known to be 
of special value, and have presented the experience 
of practical men upon points about which the opin- 
ions of farmers differ. The reader will be best able 
to judge how far I have succeeded in accomplishing 
my object. 

1* (5) 



VI PREFACE. 

It seems unnecessary to dwell here upon the 
importance of the subject. Perennial grasses, says 
an eminent practical farmer, are the true basis of 
agriculture in the highest condition of that best 
employment of man. Grasses which are not peren- 
nial are of immense value, especially as one of the 
shifts in the ordinary rotation of crops, suited to the 
agriculture of the great upper or northerly portion 
of our continent, all of it above the cotton line. 
But it is the grasses which are perpetual to which 
we are to look for our chief success in farming. 

Perhaps the most forcible expression of opinion 
on this point may be found in a French writer, who 
asserts that the term grass is only another name for 
beef, mutton, bread, and clothing; or in the Bel- 
gian proverb, " No grass, no cattle; no cattle, no 
manure ; no manure, no crops ! " 

If my researches, imperfect as they doubtless 
have been, should have the effect of creating a more 
general interest in the subject, and leading to more 
careful inquiry, and more general and accurate in- 
vestigation, I shall be amply rewarded for any 
labor which I have bestowed upon the preparation 
of the following pages. 

C. L. F. 

Boston, Aug., 1859. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGB 

INTRODUCTION, 9 

CHAPTER I. 

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE TRUE GRASSES WHICH ARE USED FOR 
rORAQE, 11 

CHAPTER II. 

THE CEREALIA, OR GRASSES CULTIVATED FOR THEIR SEEDS, . . 155 

CHAPTER III. 

THE ARTIFICIAL GRASSES, OR PLANTS CULTIVATED AND USED LIKE 
GRASSES, THOUGH NOT BELONGING TO THE GRASS FAMILY, . 183 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE GRASS-LIKE RUSHES, CARICES, AND SEDGES, COMMONLY CALLED 
GRASSES, 197 

CHAPTER V. 

VARIOUS CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE GRASSES, 205 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE COMPARATIVE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF THE GRASSES, . . .217 

(7) 



VIII TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 

PAGB 

THE CLIMATE AND SEASONS, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE 

GRASSES, 239 

CHAPTER VIII. 

SELECTION, MIXTURE, AND SOWING, OF GRASS-SEEDS, .... 265 

CHAPTER IX. 

TIME AND MODE OF CUTTING GRASS FOR HAY, 299 

CHAPTER X. 

CURING AND SECURING HAY, 329 

CHAPTER XI. 

GENERAL TREATMENT OF GRASS LAND, 351 

CONCLUSION, 388 

SYSTEMATIC INDEX, 389 

GENERAL INDEX . 391 



GRASSES AND FOEAGE PLANTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

I PROPOSE to speak of the grasses, a family of plants 
the most extensive and the most beautiful, as well as 
the most important to mankind. It embraces nearly a 
sixth part of the whole vegetable kingdom ; it clothes 
the globe with perpetual verdure, or adorns it at fixed 
seasons with a thick matted carpet of green, none the 
less beautiful for its simplicity ; and it nourishes and 
sustains by far the greater part of the animals that 
serve us and minister to our wants. 

When we consider the character of our climate, and 
the necessity that exists, throughout all the northern 
and middle portions of the United States and the Cana- 
das, of stall-feeding from three to five or six months of 
the year, for means of which we are dependent mainly 
on the grasses, it is plain that, in an economical point 
of view, this subject is one of the most important that 
can occupy the farmer's attention. 

The annual value of the grass crop to the country, 
for pasturage and hay together, cannot be less than 
three hundred million dollars, to say nothing of a vast 
amount of roots and other plants cultivated and used as 
forage crops. 

I shall endeavor to give a brief account of the natural 
history or description of all the useful grasses found in 

(9) 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

our fields and pastures, partly because it is essential to 
a complete understanding of the subject, and partly 
because there is at present no popular treatise on the 
subject within the easy reach of our farmers, and some- 
thing of the kind is needed for reference ; but I shall 
confine myself mainly to a plain and practical treatment 
of the subject, making such suggestions as I think may 
be useful, on the cultivation, cutting, and curing, of the 
grasses for hay, the comparative value of the diff"erent 
varieties, and the general management of grass lands. 

This subject has long been familiar to me, and has 
especially occupied my attention for the last few years, 
during which I have made an extensive collection, em- 
bracing a large proportion of the varieties described in 
the following pages, for preservation in the Agricultural 
Museum connected with my office. In addition to my 
own extensive observations on the subject, I have 
sought information in the statements of intelligent 
farmers in different parts of the country. Many of these 
I have myself conversed with, while others have favored 
me, in writing, with the results of their own experience, 
from which I shall draw with a liberal hand, for the 
purpose of giving the work a practical character, and 
of bringing the subject home to the general reader. In 
treating of the natural grasses, I shall limit myself 
mainly to a description of those species which it may 
be for the interest of the farmer to cultivate, or at 
least to encourage in his pastures, with such others as 
should be known, to be avoided. 

In the arrangement of s'pecies I shall follow mainly 
the natural order adopted by Professor Gray, to whom, 
as well as to many others, I am indebted for no small 
assistance, in studying the specific characteristics of 
many of the specimens collected and presented in the 
following pages. 



CHAPTER I. 

NATURAL HISTORY OP THE TRUE GRASSES 
WHICH ARE USED FOR FORAGE. 

The grasses, in popular language, are variously 
divided. They are sometimes designated as natural 
and artificial : the former comprising all the true 
grasses ; that is, plants with long, simple, narrow 
leaves, each leaf having many fine veins or lines run- 
ning parallel with a central prominent vein or midrib, 
and a long sheath. Fig. 1, divided to the base, which 
seems to clasp the stem, or through which the stem 
seems to pass, the stem being hollow, with very few 
exceptions, and closed at the nodes or joints ; and the 
latter — the artificial — comprising those plants, mostly 
leguminous, which have been cultivated and used like 
the grasses, though they do not properly belong to that 
family ; such as the clovers, sainfoin, and medic. In 
common language the term is often used in a sense not 
strictly proper, being not unfrequently applied to any 
herbage which affords nourishment to herbivorous or 
graminivorous animals, including, of course, not only 
many leguminous plants, like clovers, but some others 
which would more properly be called forage plants. 

But in botanical language, and speaking more pre- 
cisely, the grasses, Graminece, embrace most of the 
grains cultivated and used by man, as wheat, rye, Indian 
corn, barley, and rice ; all of which will be at once recog- 

(11) 



12 MEANS OF DISTINGUISHING SPECIES. ' 

nized as having leaves and stems very similar in shape 
and structure to most of the plants popularly called 
grasses. 

As the general appearance of plants is often greatly 
modified by climate, soil, and modes of cultivation, it is 
important to fix upon certain characteristics which are 
permanent and unaltered by circumstances, by means 
of which the particular genus and species may be iden- 
tified with ease and certainty. It is evident that these 
characteristics could not be simply in the leaves, or 
the stems, or the size of the plant, because there will 
be a great difference between plants growing in a poor, 
thin, sandy soil, and others of the same species on a 
deep, rich loam. 

Botanists have, therefore, been compelled to resort 
to other parts and peculiarities, such as flowers, &c., to 
distinguish between different species ; and the terms used 
to express these, like the terms used in other departments 
of natural history, are technical ; and hence, in detail- 
ing the natural history of the grasses, the use of tech- 
nical language, to a greater or less extent, cannot be 
avoided. I shall endeavor, however, by the use of 
plates and synonyms, to bring the description of species 
within the easy comprehension of every one who will 
carefully examine the subject. 

The flowers of the grasses are in some cases arranged 
on the stem in spikes, as where they are set on a 
common stalk without small stalks or branches for each 
separate flower, as in Timothy (Phleum pratense) ; in 
other cases in panicles, or loose subdivided clusters, as 
in orchard grass {Dactylis glomerata). A panicle is 
said to be loose or spreading, as in redtop (Agrostis 
vulgaris), where the small branches on which the 
flowers are set are open, or extended out freely in dif- 
ferent directions ; it is said to be dense, or crowded, or 



ESSENTIAL PARTS. 13 

compressed, when the branches are so short as to give 
it more or less of the spike form. 

This whole arrangement will be seen in Fig. 1, which 
represents a stalk of the common annual spear grass 
(Poa annua), a plant familiar to every one as often 
troublesome in gravel walks and on hard, dry soils. 
Here the joint, the stem, or culm, clasped by the sheath ' 
of the leaf, the leaf itself, the ligule, and the spikelets, 
all distinctly appear ; and the reader will do well to 
make himself familiar with the few technical terms used, 
by a study of this figure, in connection with Fig. 2, 
where the spikelet is so magnified as to show the florets 
and the calyx very distinctly, all of which are generally 
very easily seen with the naked eye, and Fig. 3, show- 
ing a floret still more magnified, with its two paleas, the 
outer pale being the longer and generally keeled ; that 
is, having one, three, or more longitudinal ribs, often 
having on the back, base, or summit, an awn or beard 
of different lengths, as in the oat and brome grasses, 
the inner pale with two separate fringed ribs, each on 
a fold at the side. The calyx, cup, or outer scale 
of the spikelet, is shown very much magnified in Fig. 
4, composed of two glumes, the upper and lower, the 
upper glume being the larger. The glumes and pales 
are known also by the name of husks or chaff, and are 
removed if possible in cleaning the seed, as in the j 
grains used for their meal. One or both of the glumes 
are sometimes wanting. 

In Fig. 5 is shown the pistil magnified, consisting of 
the nectary, composed of one or two fleshy scales (in 
some plants of this family both on one side, in others 
entirely wanting), and the germ, ovary, or seed-bearing 
portion of the pistil The stamens are also seen in the 
same figure, consisting each of a bag filled with a fine 
powder or pollen, supported upon a stalk or filament 
2 



14 



TECHNICAL TERMS. 

/A ""'■•■'- "'■ 



ZaleralJBranchr. 



£achxt 




iiiihetSi 



•Shecthofleaf 



Tistil maynihed 
Fig. 8. 



Fiff. 1. Annual Spear Grass. 



FERTILIZATION. 15 

which is analogous to the stalk or stem of a leaf; while 
the bag which holds the pollen, called the anther, cor- 
responds to the blade or body of the leaf. These are 
essential parts of the flower. 

At a particular stage of its growth, the anther, burst- 
ing, scatters its pollen, some of which, lighting upon 
the summit of the stigma, is said to fertilize it, when the 
new seed begins to enlarge, and a germ is formed capa- 
ble of producing other plants. The process is very 
apparent to the observation of the farmer in the case of 
Indian corn, on which the pollen is so abundant that it 
may be shaken oft' in clouds. It falls upon the stigmas 
or " silks," one of which is attached to each embryo 
seed or germ ; and without this particle of pollen, the 
seed would not be capable of attaining maturity. The 
same arrangement is seen less plainly in the other 
grasses, as, for instance, in Timothy. It is found in 
this whole family of plants, though it is more percep- 
tible in Indian corn, on account of its size, than in the 
smaller grasses. 

The germ is the first part of the seed that is distinctly 
formed, and hence, if the seed is plucked while " in the 
milk," or in a green state, it will germinate the next 
year about as well as if it were allowed to ripen. 

The anther, it will be seen, consists of two cells, — 
very prominent and hanging, supported on the long, 
slender filaments, and forked or divided at the end. 
The two short and smooth styles rise from the summit 
of the ovary, and the stigmas are feathery or rough, 
sometimes branched or compound. Only one seed is 
contained in each ovary, and each seed is covered, 
when mature, with a thin husk or hull called the peri- 
carp, which originally formed the germ or ovary ; and 
the ripe seed or fruit is only the ovary arrived at matu- 
rity. The substance or albumen of the seed of all the 



16 THE GRASS FAMILY. 

grasses is mealy or farinaceous, as wheat, for instance, 
or rye, or Indian corn, which are most used as seeds, 
on account of their size and productiveness. 

These are the prominent characteristics of this great 
and universally diffused order of plants, constituting, as 
it does, the chief support of animals as well as man. 
They belong, as has been seen, to other plants than those 
commonly called grasses ; the order Gramiuece, as I 
have already stated, embracing the grains, as wheat, 
barley, rye, and many others, Avhile it does not include 
the clovers, which properly belong to the order of legu- 
minous plants. 

These characteristics, or at least the most important 
of them, will be very easily kept in mind, as the long, 
narrow, and lance-shaped leaves, and the mealy nature 
of the seeds, which makes so large a part of this family 
valuable and nutritious ; but in studying the distinctive 
characteristics of the different species and varieties par- 
ticularly valuable or interesting to an agriculturist as 
forage plants, it will be necessary to depend much upon 
the technical terms already referred to, though in the 
following pages these will be avoided, or explained in 
the context as far as possible. 

It will have been observed that considerable import- 
ance is given to the flowers and seeds as distinguishing 
characters of the grasses. It will often be found diffi- 
cult from the mere external appearance of a variety of 
grass to determine to what species, or even to what 
genus, it belongs, so great is the resemblance between 
the different species of this class of plants ; but, with the 
aid of a small magnifying glass, there will very seldom 
be much difficulty in determining the species, especially 
if the plant is taken while in blossom. Indeed, it will 
often be possible to arrive at a conclusion from an 
inspection of a few of the more evident characters. 



LIST OF GRASSES. 



17 



A frequent reference to figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, will 

greatly aid the reader in becoming familiar with the 
technical terms applied to the organs or parts of the 
flower which it is desirable to understand, and by means 
of which he will soon learn to distinguish the different 
species more readily. 

In giving the scientific names, the first word that 
occurs in parentliesis is the name of the genus ; the 
second, that of the species ; as, for instance, in Timothy 
(Phleum pratense), Phleum is the generic name, pra- 
tense the specific. A genus often contains many 
species. 

The grasses which are described more or less 
minutely in the following pages are named in 

Table I. — List of the True Grasses. 



CoiDDion Name. 


Botanical Name. 


Time o 
Blossomi 

August, 


^ Place of Growth. 

ag. 


Rice Grass, 


Leersia oryzoides, . . . 


. Low, wet places. 


White Grass, 


Leersia Virginica, . . . 


August, 


, Damp woods. 


Catch Fly Grass, . , . 


Leersia lenticularis, . . 


August, 


. Low grounds. 


Indian Rice, 


Zizanla aquatica, . . . 


August, 


. Borders of streams. 


Prolific Rice, 


Zizania miliacea, . . . 


August, 


. Wet places. 


Meadow Foxtail, . . . 


Alopecurus pratensis, . 


May, . 


, Fields and pastures. 


Floating Foxtail, . . . 


Alopecurus geniculatus. 


May, JuE 


e, Wet meadows, ditches. 


Slender Foxtail, .... 


Alopecurus agrestis, . . 


July, . 


. Fields and pastures. 


Wild Water Foxtail, . . 


Alopecurus aristulatus, . 


June to A 


ug. In wet meadows. 


Timothy, 


Phleum pratense, . . . 


June, Ju 


y^ Fields and pastures. 


Mountain Cat's-tail, . . 


Phleum alpinum, . . . 


August, 


. Wild mountain tops. 


Rush Grass, 


Vilfa aspera, 


Sept., . 


. Dry, sandy soils. 


Hidden Flowered VUfa, . 


Vllfa vaginaeflora, . . . 


Sept., . 


. Sandy & gravelly plains 


Southern A'ilfa, .... 


Vilfa Virginica, .... 


Aug., . 


. Sandy sea-shores. 


Rush Drop-seed, .... 


Sporobolus junceus, . . 


Aug., . 


. Dry soils. 


Strong-scented Drop-seed, 


Sporobolus heterolepis, . 


Aug., . 


. Sandy soils. 


Leaden Drop-seed, . . 


Sporobolus cryptandrus, 


Aug., . 


. Sandy soils. 


Smooth-leaved Drop-seed, 


Sporobolus compressus. 


Sept., . 


. Wet bogs. 


Late Droivseed, .... 


Sporobolus serotinus, . 


Sept., . 


. Wet sands. 


Brown Bent, 


Agrostis canina, .... 


June, Ju 


y, Fields and pastures. 


Tickle Grass, 


Agrostis scabra, .... 


June, Ju 


y. Old, dry fields. 


Taller Thiu Grass, . . . 


Agrostis elata, 


Oct., . 


. . Swamps. 


Thin Grass, 


Agrostis perannans, . . 


July, Au 


g.. Moist shades. 


Redtop, 


Agrostis vulgaris, . . . 


July, . 


. . Fields and pastures. 


English BeDt, 


Agrostis alba, 


July, . 


. . Fields and pastures. 


Fiorin, •••••.•. 


-Agrostis stolonifera, . . 


July, . 


. . Moist meadows. 


2* 







18 



LIST OP GRASSES. 



Common Name. 


Botanical Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 


Place of Growth. 


Southern Bent, .... 


Agrostis dispar, .... 


July, . . . 


Fields, pastures. 


Annual Beard Grass, . 


Polypogon monspeliensis, 


June, July, 


Near the coast. 


Wood-reed Grass, . . . 


Cinna arundinacea, . . 


July, Aug, 


Shady swamps. 


Drooping-reed Grass, . 


Cinna pendula, .... 


Aug., . . . 


Low woods. 


Awnless Muhlenbergia, 


Muhlenbtrgia sobolifera. 


Aug., Sept., 


Open, rocky woods. 


Clustering Muhlenbergia, 


iluhlenbergia glomcrata. 


Aug., . . . 


Swamps. 


Mexican Muhlenbergia, 


Muhlenbergia Mexicana, 


Aug., . . . 


Low grounds. 


Sylvan Muhlenbergia, . 


Muhlenbergia sylvatica. 


Aug., Sept., 


Rocky woods. 


WiUdenow's Muhlenber- 
gia, 


Muhlenbergia Willdenovii 


Aug., Sept., 


Open, rocky woods. 


Nimble Will, 


Muhlenbergia diffusa, . 


Aug., Sept., 
Aug., . . . 
June, . . . 


Dry hills, woods. 


Hair Grass, 


JIuhlenbergia capillaris, 


Sandy soils. 
Rocky woods. 


Awned Brachyelytrum, 


Brachyelytrum aristatuni 


Blue Joint Grass, . . . 


CalaraagrostisCanadensis 


July, . . . 


Wet grounds. 


Glaucous Small Reed, . 


Calamagrostis coarctata. 


Aug., . . . 


Wet grounds. 


Close-flowered Sm. Reed, 


Calamagrostis inexpansa, 


July, . . . 


Swamps. 


Alpine Reed Bent, . . . 


Calamagrostis Pickeringii 


Sept., . . . 


Mountain tops. 


Purple Bent, 


Calamagrostis brevipilis, 


Sept., . . . 


Pine barrens. 


Woolly Bent, 


Calam;igri)sti3 longifolia. 


Sept., . . . 


Snndy sea-shores. 


Beach Grass, Sea Reed, 


Ammophila arundinacea. 


Aug., . . . 


Drifting sands. 


TJpriglit Sea Lyme Grass, 


Elymus arenarius, . . . 


July, . . . 


Drifting sands. 


Bl.nck Mountain Rice, . 


Oryzopsis melanocarpa. 


Aug., . . . 


Rocky woods. 


White Mountain Rice, . 


Oryzopsis asperifolia, . 


May, . . . 


Wooded hills. 


Canadian Rice, .... 


Oryzopsis Canadensis, . 


May, . . . 


Rocky hill-sides. 


Feather Grass 


Stipa pennata, 


Aug., . . . 


Gardens. 


Richardson's Feather 
Grass, 


Stipa Richardsonii, . . 


July, . . . 


Pleasant mountain. 


Black Oat Grass, . . . 


Stipa avenacea, .... 


July, . . . 


Dry, sandy woods. 


Porcupine Grass, . . . 


Stipa spartea, 


July, . . . 


Prairies. 


Poverty Grass, .... 


Aristida dichotoma, . . 


Sept., . . . 


Sandy pine barrens 


Three Awned Grass, . . 


Aristida ramosissima, . 


Sept.,. . . 


Dry prairies. 


Slender Three Awned 
Grass, 


Aristida gracilis, . . . 


Sept , . . . 


Sandy fields. 


Downy Triple Awn, . . 


Aristida striata, .... 


June, July, 


Rocky shades. 


Purple Ti-iple Awn, . . 


Aristida purpurascens, 


Sept., . . . 


Rocky uplands. 


Prairie Triple Awn, . . 


Aristida oligantha, . . 


July, . . . 


Prairies. 


Long Awned Poverty 
Grass, 


Aristida tuberculosa, . 


July, Aug., 


Dry prairies. 


Fresh-water Cord Grass, 


Spartina cynosuroides, . 


Aug., . . . 


Banks of streams. 


Salt Reed Grass, . . . 


Spartina polystachya, . 


— 


Brackish marshes. 


Rush Salt Grass, . . . 


Spartina juncea, .... 


Aug., . . . 


Salt marshes, beaches. 


Salt Marsh Grass, . . . 


Spartina stricta, .... 


_ 


Sea-coast. 


Rough Marsh Grass, . . 


Spartina glabra, .... 


— 


Salt marshes. 


Smooth Marsh Grass, . 


Sprvrtina alterniflora, . . 


Aug., Sept., 


Borders salt marshes. 


Toothache Grass, . . . 


Ctenium Americanum, . 


_ 


Wet, sandy plains. 


Muskit Grass, ..... 


Bouteloua oligostachya, 


Aug., . . . 


Dry lands. 


Bristly Muskit, .... 


Bouteloua hirsuta, . . . 


— 


Sandy plains. 


Hairy Muskit, .... 


Bnuteloua curtipendula, 


July, Sept., 


Stiff soils. 


Naked Beard Grass, . . 


Gyranopogon racemosus, 


Aug 


Pine barrens. 



LIST OF GRASSES. 



19 



Common Name. 


Botanical Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 


Place of Growth. 


Short-leaved Beard Grass 


Gymnopogon brevifolius. 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy soils. 


Bermuda Grass, .... 


Cynodon dactylon, . . . 


July, . . . 


Light soils. 


Egyptian Grass, .... 


Dactyloctenium .flSgyp- 
tiacuni, .../... 


July, . . . 


Fields. 


Crop, or Crab Grass, . . 


Eleusine Indica, .... 


June, . . . 


Fields, yards. 


Pointed Slender Grass, . 


Leptochloa mucronata, . 


Aug., . . . 


Fields. 


Clustering Slender Grass, 


Leptochloa fascicularis, . 


Aug., . . . 


Brackish marshes. 


Tall Redtop, 


Tricuspis sesleroides, . 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy fields. 


Sand Grass, 


Tricuspis purpurea, . . 


Aug., Sept., 


Sands on the coast 


Horned Sand Grass, . . 


Tricuspis cornuta, . . . 


July, . . . 


Light soils. 


Dupontia Grass, .... 


Dupontia Cooleyi, . . . 


— 


Swampy lands. 


Twin Grass, 


Dian-hena Americana, . 


Aug., . . . 


Moist shades. 


Orchard Grass, .... 


Dactylis glomerata, . . 


June, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Crested Kueleria, . . . 


Kceleria cristata, . . . 


July, . . . 


Prairies. 


Truncated Koelsria, . . 


Koeleria truncata, . . . 


June, . . . 


Dry fields. 


Pennsylvanian Eatonia, 


Eatonia Pennsylvanica, 


June, . . . 


Moist woods. 


Melic Grass, 


Melica mutica, .... 


June, . . . 


Fields. 


Rattlesnake Grass, . . 


Glyceria Canadensis, . . 


July, . . . 


Wet bogs. 


Obtuse Spear Grass, . . 


Glyceria obtusa, .... 


Aug., . . . 


Borders of ponds. 


Long Panicled Manna 
Grass, 


Glyceria elongata, . . . 


June, July, 


Woods and swamps. 


Meadow Spear Grass, . 


Glyceria nervata, . . . 


June, July, 


Moist and wet meadons 


Pale Manna Grass, . . 


Glyceria pallida, . . . 


July, . . . 


Shallow water. 


Water Spear Grass, . . 


Glyceria aquatica, . . . 


Aug., . , . 


Wet soils. 


Common Manna Grass, 


Glyceria fluitans, . . . 


June, . . . 


Muddy ditches. 


Pointed Spear Grass, . . 


Glyceria acutiflora, . . 


June, . . . 


Wet lands. 


Goose Grass, 


Glyceria maritima, . . 


July, . . . 


Salt marshes. 


Clustered Spear Grass, . 


Glyceria distans, . . . 


July, . . . 


Salt marshes. 


Spike Grass, 


Brizopyrum spicatum, . 


Aug., . . . 


Salt marshes. 


Annual Spear Grass, . . 


Poa annua, 


Apr. to Oct., 


Fields and pastures. 


Wavy Meadow Grass, . 


Poa laxa, 


July, . . . 


High, rocky hills. 


Short-leaved Spear Grass, 


Poa brevifoUa, 


April, May, 


Rocky and moist places. 


Southern Spear Grass, . 


Poaflexuosa, 


Mar., May, 


Upland woods. 


Wood Spear Grass, . . 


Poa alsodes, 


May, June, 


Upland woods. 


Weak Meadow Grass, . 


Poa debilis, 


May, . . . 


Woody river banks. 


Sylvan Spear Grass, . . 


Poa sylvestris, .... 


June, . . . 


Rocky banks. 


Fowl Meadow, .... 


Poa serotina, 


July & Aug. 


In wet soils. 


Wood Meadow Grass, . 


Poa nemoralis, .... 


June, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Rough-stalked Meadow, 


Poa trivialis, 


July, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


June Grass, 


Poa pratensis, 


June, July, 


Fields and pastures. 


Blue Grass, 


Poa compressa, .... 


July, Aug. 


Dry road-sides, pastures 


Creeping Meadow, . . . 


Eragrostis reptans, . . 


July & Aug. 


Sandy river banks. 


Strong-scented Meadow, 


Eragrostis poseoides, . . 


Aug. & Sept. 


Sandy fields. 


Pungent Meadow, . . . 


Eragrostis megastachya, 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy fields. 


Slender Meadow, . . . 


Eragrostis pilosa, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy, gravelly places. 


Short-stalked Meadow, . 


Eragrostis Frankli, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Moist sands. 


Southern Eragrostis, . . 


Eragrostis Purshil . . . 


July, . . . 


Sterile plains. 


Branching Spear Grass, 


Eragrostis tenuis, . . . 


Aug., Oct., 


Sterile plains. 



20 



LIST OF GRASSES. 



Common Name. 


Botanical Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 

Aug., Sept., 


Place of Growth. 


Hair-panicled Meadow 
Grass, 


Eragrostis capillaris, . . 


Sandy plains. 


Meadow Comb Grass, . 


Eragrostis pectinacea, . 


Aug., Sept., 


Sandy plains. 


Quaking Grass, .... 


Briza media, ..... 


June, . . . 


Pastures. 


Small Fescue Grass, . . 


Festuca tenella, .... 


July, . . . 


Dry, sterile soils. 


Sheep's Fescue, .... 


Festuca ovina, .... 


June, . . . 


High pastures and hills. 


Hard Fescue Grass, . . 


Festuca duriuscula, . . 


June, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Red Fescue Grass, . . . 


Festuca rubra, .... 


— 


Sandy places by the sea. 


Meadow Fescue, .... 


Festuca pratensis, . . . 


June, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Tall Fescue Grass, . . . 


Festuca elatior, .... 


June, July, 


Fields and pastures. 


Slender Fescue, .... 


Festuca loliacea, . • . . 


— 


Moist meadows, pastures 


Nodding Fescue, . . . 


Festuca Nutans, . . . 


July, . . . 


Rocky woods. 


Crested Dog's-tail, . . . 


Cynosurus cristatus, . . 


July, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Willard's Bromus, . . . 


Bromus secalinus, . . . 


June, July, 


Fields, and in grain crops. 


Smooth Brome Grass, . 


Bromus racemosus, . . 


June, . . . 


Grain fields. 


Soft Chess, 


Bromus mollis, .... 


June, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Wild Chess, 


Bromus Kalmii, .... 


June, July, 


Dry, open woods. 


Fringed Brome Grass, . 


Bromus ciliatus, .... 


July, Aug., 


Rocky hills, woods. 


Meadow Brome, .... 


Bromus pratensis, . . . 


July, . . . 


Dry, arid pastures. 


Sterile Brome Grass, . . 


Bromus sterilis, .... 


July, . . . 


Dry pastures. 


Spike Grass, 


Uniola paniculata, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Sands on the coast. 


Broad-leaved Spike Grass 


Uniola latifolia, .... 


Aug., . . . 


Shaded fields. 


Slender Spike Grass, . . 


Uniola gracilis, .... 


Aug., . . . 


Sands on the coast. 


Common Reed Grass, . 


Phragmites communis, . 


Sept.,. . . 


Swamps, edges of ponds. 


Cane Grass, 


Arundinaria macrosper- 
ma, 


April, . . . 


Rich soils. 


Slender Tail Grass, . . 


Lepturus paniculatus, . 


Aug., . . . 


Salt licks. 


Perennial Rye Grass, . 


Lolium perenne, .... 


June, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Italian Rye Grass, . . . 


Lolium Italicum, . . . 


June, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Bearded Darnel, .... 


Lolium temulentum, . . 


July, . . . 


Grain fields. 


Many-flowered Darnel, . 


Lolium multiflorum, . . 


June, July, 


Fields and pastures. 


Couch, or Twitch Grass, 


Triticum repens, .... 


June, July, 


Fields and pastures. 


Bearded Wheat Grass, . 


Triticum caninum, . . . 


July, . . . 


Woody banks. 


Squirrel-tail Grass, . . 


Hordeum jubatum, . . 


June, . . . 


Salt marshes. 


Barley Grijss, 


Hordeura pusillum, . . 


May, . . . 


Brackish soils. 


Two-rowed Barley, . . 


Hordeum distichum, . . 


June, . . . 


Fields. 


Four-rowed Barley, . . 


Hordeum vulgare, . . . 


June, . . . 


Fields. 


Rye, 


Secale cereale, .... 
Elymus Virginicus, . . 


June, . . . 
July & Aug. 


Fields. 


Lyme Grass, 


Banks of rivers. 


Canadian Lyme Grass, . 


Elymus Canadensis, . . 


Aug., . . . 


River banks. 


Slender Hairy Lyme, . 


Elymus striatus, .... 


July, . . . 


River banks. 


Soft Lyme Grass, . . . 


Elymus mollis, .... 


July, . . . 


Moist soils. 


Botlle-brush Grass, . . 


Gymnostichum Hystrix, 


July, . . . 


Bloist, rocky woods. 


Wood Hair Grass, . . . 


Aira flexuosa, 


June, . . . 


Dry, rocky hills. 


Tufted Hair Grass, . . . 


Aira csespitosa, .... 


June, July, 


Marshy, wet bottoms. 


Purple Alpme Hair Grass 


Aira atrnpurpurea, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Hill tops. 


Wild Oat Grass, .... 


Danthonia spicata, . . 


June, . . . 


Dry pastures. 


Downy Persoon, .... 


Trisetum moUe, .... 


July, . . . 


Rocky river banks. 


Downy Oat Grass, . . . 


Trisetum pubescens, . . 


July, . . . 


Poor, dry pastures. 



LIST OF GEASSES. 



21 



Common Name. 


Botanical Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 


Place of Growth. 


Marsh Oat Grass, . . . 


Trisetum palustre, . . . 


June, . . . 


Low grounds. 


Meadow Oat Grass, . . 


Avena pratensis, . . . 


July, . . . 


Pastures. 


Yellow Oat Grass, . . . 


A vena flavescens, . . . 


July, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Purple Wild Oat, . . . 


Avena striata, 


June, . . . 


Rocky hill-sides. 


Early Wdd Oat, .... 


Avena praecox, .... 


June, . . . 


Sandy soils. 


Commoa Oat, 


Avena sativa, 


July, . . . 


Cultivated fields. 


Tall Meadow Oat Grass, 


Arrhenatherum avena- 
ceum, 


May, June, 


Fields and pastures. 


Meadow Soft Grass, . . 


Holcus lanatus, .... 


June, . . . 


Fields and pastures. 


Creeping Soft Grass, . . 


Holcus mollis, 


— 


Fitlds and pastures. 


Seneca Grass, 


Hierochloa borealis, . . 


May, . . . 


Wet meadows. 


Alpine Holy Grass, . . 


Uierochloa alpina, . . . 


July, . . . 


Mountain lops. 


Sweet-scented Vernal, . 


Anthoxanthum odoratum 


May, June, 


Fitlds and pastures. 


Reed Canary Grass, . . 


Phalarls arundinacea, . 


July, . . . 


liy running streams. 


Common Canary Grass, 


Phalaris Canariensis, . 


July, Aug., 


Gardens. 


Millet Grass, 


Millium effusum, . . . 


June, . . . 


Damp, cold woods. 


Double-bearing Millet, . 


Millium Purshii, . . . 
Paspalum fluitans, . . 


Sept., . . . 


Moist pine barrens. 


Floating Paspalum, . . 


Oct., . . . 


Wet swamps. 


Hairy Slender Paspalum, 


Paspalum setaceum, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy fields by the sea. 


Smooth Erect Paspalum, 


Paspalum laeve, .... 


Aug., . . . 


Moist meadows. 


Joint Grass, 


Paspalum distichum, . . 


July, Aug., 


Wet fields. 


Finger-shaped Paspalum, 


Paspalum digitaria, , . 


July, Aug., 


Moist grounds. 


Slender Crab Grass, . . 


Panicum filiforme, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Dry sands on the coast. 


Smooth Crab Grass, . . 


Panicum glabrum, . . . 


Aug., Sept., 


i'ields, waste places. 


Finger Grass, 


Panicum sanguinale, . . 


Aug. to Oct., 


Neglected fields. 


Agrostis-like Panic, . . 


Panicum agrostoides, . . 


July, Aug., 


Wet med., river banks. 


Double-headed Panic, . 


Panicum anceps, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Wet pine barrens. 


Prolific Panic Grass, , . 


Panicum proliferum, . . 


July, Aug., 


Brackish marshes. 


Hair-stalked Panic, . . 


Panicum capillare, . . . 


Aug., Sept., 


Dry, sandy fields. 


Autumn Panic, .... 


Panicum autumnale, . . 





Sand-hills. 


Bitter Panic, 


Panicum amarum, . . . 


Aug., Sept., 


Sandy shores. 


Tall Smooth Panic, . . 


Panicum virgatum, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Moist, sandy soils. 


Broad-leaved Panic, . . 


Panicum latifolium, . . 


June, July, 


Damp thickets. 


Hidden-flowered Panic, . 


Panicum clandestinum, 


July, Aug., 


Moist thickets. 


SmuU-seeded Panic, . . 


Panicum microcarpon, . 


July, Sept., 


Moist thickets. 


Yellow Panic, 


Panicum xanthophysum. 


June, . , . 


Sandy soils. 


Sticky Panic Grass, . . 


Panicum viscidum, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Moist soils. 


Millet 


Panicum miliaceum, . . 


June, . . . 


Cultivated grounds. 


Few-flowered Panic, . . 


Panicum pauciflorum, . 


June, .lulv, 


Wet soils. 


Polymorphus Panic, . . 


Panicum dichotomum, . 


June, Aug., 


Moist fields. 


Worthless Panic, . . . 


Panicum depauperatum. 


June, . . . 


Dry woods. 


Warty Panic, 


Panicum verrucosum, . 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy swamps. 


Hungarian Grass, . . . 


Panicum germanicum, . 


— 


Cultivated grounds. 


Barn Grass, 


Panicum crus-galli, . . 


Aug., Sept., 


Rich cultivated grounds. 


Bristly Foxtail, .... 


Setaria verticillata, . . 


— 


About farm-houses. 


Bottle Grass, 


Setaria glauca, .... 


July, . . . 


Fields and barn-yards. 


Green Foxtail, .... 


Setaria viridis, .... 


— 


Cultivated fields. 


Bengal Grass, 


Setaria Italica, .... 


— 


Fields. 


Burr Grass, 


Cenchrus tribuloidea, . 


Aug.,. . . 


Sands near the coast. 



22 



HOW TO EXAMINE SPECIMENS. 



Common Name. 


Botanical Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 

Aug., . . . 


Place of Growth. 


Gama Grass, . . . 


. . Tripsacum daclyloides, . 


Moist places on the coast 


Woolly Beard Grass, 


. . Eriaiithus alopecuroides. 


Sept., . . . 


Moist pine barren. 


Short-bearded EriantI 


1U3, Erianthus brevibarbis, . 


Aug., . . . 


Low grounds. 


ringer-s|)iked Wood, 


. Andropogon forcatiu, . 


Sept., . . . 


Sterile, rocky hiUa. 


Purple -wood Grass, 


. Andropogon scoparius, . 


July to Sept., 


Sterile, sandy plains. 


Silver Beard Grass, 


. Andropogon argenteus. 


Sept., . . . 


Barren soils. 


Virginian Beard Gras 


}, . Andropogon Virginicus, 


Sept., . . . 


Sandy soils. 


Cluster-flowered Bea 


rd . . 






Grass, 


Andropogon macrorus, . 




Low grounds. 


Indian Grass, . . . 


. Sorghum nutans, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Dry soils. 


Dhourra Corn, . . 


. Sorghum vulgare, . . , 





Cultivated fields. 


Broom Com, . . . 


. Sorghum saccharatum, . 


July, . . . 


Fields. 


Chinese Sugar-cane, 


. Sorghum nigrum, . . . 


July. . . . 


Cultivated grounds. 


Chocolate Corn, . . 


. Sorghum Bicolor, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Cultivated grounds. 


Indian Corn, . . . 


. Zeamays, 


July, . . . 


Cultivated grounds. 



To aid the reader in finding the true name of an 
unknown specimen of grass, the following arrangement 
will be found to be very convenient, and easily under- 
stood. Let the flowers of the grass be first examined. 
If but one is found in each spikelet, refer to number 2, 
of the left-hand column, and then examine and see 
whether they are arranged in panicles or spikes ; if the 
former, then refer to number 3 of the left-hand column, 
and see whether they are awned or not. If awned, 
refer to number 4, if without awns, to number 12, of 
the left-hand column. If unawned, and having two 
glumes, refer to 13, and so on. If without glumes 
and aquatic, it is a zizania, or wild rice. 

If in the first examination the spikelets are found to 
have two or more flowers, refer to number 26, of the left- 
hand column, and see whether the inflorescence is in 
panicles or spikes. If the former, refer to 27, of the 
left-hand column. If the latter, in spikes, refer to 39, 
and then see whether the spikelets are two-rowed, or 
one-sided. If the latter, refer to 45, and see whether 
the spikes are digitate and the spikelets in two rows. 
If they are, refer it to the genus Eleusine. 



ANALYSIS OF SPECIMENS. 23 

But little practice will be required to gain familiarity 
in thus analyzing the flowers of the grasses. 

1. Spikelets with but one flower, 2 

1. Spikelets witli two or more flowers, 26 

2. Flowers arranged in panicles 3 

2. Flowers in spikes, 16 

3. With awns, 4 

3. Without awns, 12 

4. Glumes large 5 

4. Glumes minute, unequal, one hardly perceptible 11 

4. Glumes none, grass aquatic, 2 — Zizania. 

5. Without abortive rudiments 6 

6. With an abortive rudiment of a second flower 52 — Holcus. 

6. Paleae two 7 

6. Palete three, upper awned flowers polygamous, . 65 — Sorghum. 

7. Palea with one awn, 8 

7. Lower palea with three twisted awns, 15 — Aristida. 

8. PaleiB cartilaginous or gristly 9 

8. Paleoe herbaceous 10 

8. Paleoe membranaceous, panicle open, 7 — Agrostis. 

8. PaleiB membranaceous, panicle contracted, . . .8 — Polypogon. 
9. Flowers sessile, or joined to the stem at the base, . . 13 — Oryzopsis. 

9. Flowers stipitate, fruit black, 14 — Stipa. 

10. Flowei's naked, with one stamen, 9 — Cinna. 

10. Flowers hairy, stamens three, 12 — Calamagrostis. 

11. Stamens three, 10 — Muhlenbergia. 

11. Stamens two, . . . ." 11 — Brachyelytrum. 

12. Glumes two, 13 

12. Glumes none, leaves rough from the end backwards, 1 — Leersia. 

13. Paleoe membranaceous, 14 

13. Paleoe leathery, spikelets all cauline, 56 — Milium. 

13. Paleoe leathery, fertile spikelets radical, .... 57 — Amphicarpon. 

14. Fruit coated, or covered with a husk, 15 

14. Fruit naked, 6 — Sporobolus. 

15. Flowers stalked, 7 — Agrostis. 

15. Flowers sessile, 5 — Vilfix. 

16. Flowers awned, 17 

16. Flowers without awns 22 

17. Spikes solitary, 18 

17. Spikes many, awnless, unilateral, paleoe cartilaginous, 59 — Panicum. 

17. Spikelets two, fertile, 63 — Erianthus. 

17. Spikes two, polygamous, sterile flowers bearded, . . 64 — Andropogon. 

18. Spikes simple, or nearly so, 19 

18. Spikes paniculate, or lobed, 21 



24 ANALYSIS OF SPECIMENS. 

19. Involucre none, 20 

19. Involucre of two or more bristles 60 — Setaria. 

19. Involucre burr-like, 61 — Cenchrus. 

20. Palcae with awns one to three times their length, 3 — Alopecurus. 

20. Palete with awns five times their length, . . . 44 — Hordeum. 

21. Both glumes and paleis awned, 10 — Muhlenbergia. 

21. Glumes awnless, single palea awned, 54 — Anthoxanthum. 

21. Paleae two, lateral flowers staminate 53 — Hierochloa. 

22. Flowers perfect or polygamous, 23 

22. Spikes monoecious, 25 

23. Spikes one-sided, .24 

23. Spikes cylindrical, solitary terminal 4 — Phleum. 

24. Spikes two or more, spikelets suborbicular, . . 58 — Paspalum. 

24. Spikes digitate or verticillate, linear, .... 59 — Panicura. 

24. Spikes pedunculate, in a two-sided panicle, . . . 16 — Spartina. 

24. Spikes sessile, in a one-sided panicle, .... 41 — Lepturus. 
25. Spikes all terminal, sterile above, fertile at base, . . 62 — Tripsacum. 
25. Fertile spikes lateral, sterile ones terminal panicled 66 — Zea. 

26. Inflorescence in panicles, 27 

26. Inflorescence in spikes, 39 

27. Flowers awned, 28 

27. Flowers without awns, 33 

28. Lower palea awned on the back, 29 

28. Lower palea awned on the apex, 32 

29. Awn near the base of the palea, 30 

29. Awn near the apex of the palea, . . . , 31 

30. Apex bifid, awn bent, 50 — Avena. 

30. Apex bifid, awn bent, lower flower sterile, 51 — Arrhenatherum. 

30. Apex multifid, 47 — Aira. 

31. PaletB with two bristly teeth, 49 — Trisetum. 

31. PaleiB bifid, 37— Bromus. 

32. Lower palea rounded, obtuse, 35 — Briza. 

32. Lower palea entire, pointed, fruit coated, . . . 36 — Festuca. 

32. Awn between two teeth, twisted 48 — Danthonia. 

33. Terminal flower perfect, 34 

S3. Terminal flower abortive, or a mere pedicel 36 

34. Paleae entire, outer one mucronate, 35 

34. Glumes unequal, like the lower abortive pale, 59— Panicum. 

34. Glumes equal, longer than the palea, 65 — Phalaris. 

34. Lower palea truncate-mucronate, inner bifid, . . 38 — Uniola. 

34. Flowers silky-bearded on the rachis, .... 39 — Phragmites. 

34. Spikelets terete, paleae seven-nerved 31 — Glyceria. 

34. Spikelets two to six, five-nerved, 33 — ^Poa. 

34. Spikelets two to twenty, three-nerved, .... 34 — ^Eragrostis. 

34. Spikelets flat, lower pale laterally compressed, 32 — Brizopyrum. 



\ 



THE GEASS FAMILY. 26 

35. Scales two — styles two, 36 — Festuca, 

35. Scales and styles three, 40 — Arnndinaria. 

36. Panicle contracted, 37 

36. Panicle large diffuse, 30 — Melica. 

37. Lower palea one-pointed, or mucronate, 38 

37. Lower palea pointless, 29 — Eatonia. 

37. Lower palea three-cleft, 24 — Tricuspis. 

37. Lower pale awnless, 25 — Dupontia. 

38. Stamens three, 28 — Koeleria. 

38. Stamens two, 26 — Diarrliena. 

39. Spikelets two-ranked, 37 

39. Spikelets unilateral, 43 

40. Glumes broad, 41 

40. Glumes subulate, 42 

40. Glumes none, 46 — Gymnostichum. 

41. Glumes two, in the upper spikelet only, 42 — Lolium. 

41. Glumes two, in each spikelet, 43 — Triticum. 

42. Glumes collateral, spikelets in twos or more, . . 46 — Elymus. 

42. Glumes opposite, spikelets solitary, 45 — Secale. 

43. One perfect among several neutral ones 17 — Ctenium. 

43. One perfect flower below several neutral ones, 44 

43. Spikelets conglomerate, or paniculate, 27 — Dactylis. 

43. Spikelets with more than one perfect flower, 45 

44. Spikes dense, 18 — Bouteloua. 

44. Spikes filiform, racemed, 19 — Gymnopogon. 

44. Spikes slender, digitate 20 — Cynodon. 

45. Spikes digitate, glumes and pale awnless, blunt 22 — Eleusine. 

45. Spikes racemed, slender, 23 — Leptochloa. 

The order Gramine^, or the Grass Family, embraces, 
as already said, plants with cylindrical stems, for the 
most part hollow, and closed at the joints, with leaves 
in two alternate rows, and sheaths open on the side 
opposite the blade, down to the point from which they 
start. The flowers are in little spikelets held in two- 
rowed glumes or bracts, the outer glumes generally 
two in number, and unequal. The stamens vary from 
one to six, but are usuallj'- three, in number. The 
ovary is simple, Avith two styles and two feathery stig- 
mas ; and the fruit is enclosed in a husk, called a cary- 
opsis. This great and universally diffused order is 
divided by botanists into tribes, sub-tribes, genera, 
8 



26 WHITE GRASS. — CUT GRASS. 

species, and varieties ; the tribes and sub-tribes era- 
bracing more or less genera ; each genus embracing 
more or less species, and a species often embracing 
varieties. In the arrangement of the following pages 
each genus is numbered in its order ; and the first we 
have is 

1. Leersia. White Grass. 

Spikelets one-flowered ; flowers perfect, flattened, 
compressed iu one-sided panicled spikes or clusters, 
jointed with the short pedicels. Glumes wanting, paleae 
boat-shaped, flattened laterally, awnless, closed, nearly 
equal in length, the lower one much the broader, and 
enclosing a flat grain. Stamens one to six ; stigmas 
feathery, with branching hairs; sheaths rough or prickly 
upwards. Perennial ; swamps and low grounds. Ge- 
neric name from Leers, a German botanist. 

White Grass, Cut Grass, False Rice {Leersia ory- 
zoides), is very common in wet, swampy places, and 
along the margins of sluggish streams and ditches. 
Stems from two to four feet high ; panicle erect, spread- 
ing, with rough, slender branches ; leaves narrow, long ; 
sheaths exceedingly rough and sharp to the hand, drawn 
from the end downward. Florets oval and white, or 
whitish green; spikelets flat. Flowers in August. Said 
to be a native of Europe and Asia, as well as the United 
States. Common in most parts of the country, and 
often known at the South as " rice's cousin." 

This beautiful grass is of no agricultural value ; and 
the farmer should, by careful draining, encourage the 
growth of more valuable species in its place. 

Small-flowered White Grass, Virginian Cut Grass 
[Leersia Virginica), is rather smoother than the pre- 
ceding. A branch of the panicle is shown m Fig. 6. 
The panicle is simple, slender, the spikelets closely ap- 
pressed, oblong. A magnified spikelet is shown in Fig. 7, 



CATCH FLY GRASS. — RICE. 



27 




Fig. 
Virginia ( 



; Grass 



Fig. 11. 



opened in Fig. 8, with its stamens 
and pistil in Fig. 9, a part of the 
stigma highly magnified in Fig. 10, 
and a seed in Fig. 11. It is a del- 
icate-looking and beautiful grass, 
but possesses no agricultural value, 
and may be rooted out like the 
preceding. 

Catch Fly Grass {Leersia lenti- 
cularis) is smoothish, stem and 
panicle erect, palege flat, with keel 
and veins very hairy. Pursh ob- 
served it catching flies like the 
Venus' fly-trap {D'lonea muscipula), 
the paleaB resembling the leaves 
of that plant in structure. Fig. 3 
will serve to show how, by a 
motion similar to that of the sen- 
sitive-plant, an insect might be 
entrapped. Found in wet, low 
grounds in Ohio, Illinois, Virginia, 
and south. It is perennial,and flow- 
ers in July. 

EiCE ( Oriza sativa) is nearly al- 
lied to this genus. See chapter on 
the grasses cultivated for their 
seeds. 



2. ZlZANIA. 



Indian Rice. 



Staminate and pistillate flowers both in one flowered 
spikelets in the same panicles; glumes Avanting or rudi- 
mentary, forming a little cup; palete convex, awnless in 
the staminate flowers, the lower tipped with a straight 
awn in the pistillate; stamens six, stigmas pencil-formed. 
Stout, often reedy aquatic grasses. 




Fig. 17. Fig. 16, 



Fig. 12. 



PROLIFIC RICE. 29 

Indian Eice, AYiLD Rice, or "Water Oats (Zizania 
aquatica), Fig. 12, is found in swampy borders of streams, 
in shallow water, and is common. It grows from three 
to nine feet in height, with flat, long, lanceolate leaves. 
Panicle large, pyramidal; lower branches sterile, spread- 
ing ; upper, pistillate or fertile, erect. Flowers in July 
and August, and drops its seed, when ripe, at the slight- 
est touch, and. this furnishes food for water-fowls. It is 
also used for food by the aborigines. North America. 

This plant is the foUe avoine of the early settlers of 
Louisiana. It is exceedingly prolific, growing wild in 
all the Southern States, where it is said to produce two 
crops in a year of good hay, of which stock of every 
kind are very fond. It is greedily eaten when green. 

In the Western States, where it is also common in the 
shallow water on the swampy margins of streams, it 
forms an important food for the Indians, who paddle a 
canoe among the rice, bend it over the sides, and beat 
out the grains with a stick. 

In Fig. 13, the staminate flowers are seen as they 
appear at the end of a branch of the natural size. Fig. 
14 represents a staminate flower, magnified ; Fig. 15, 
the germ and stigmas ; Fig. 16, a fertile or pistillate 
flower ; Fig. 17, the same, ripe ; Fig. 18, the seed. 
Contrary to the usual arrangement, the fertile or pistil- 
late flowers are above the sterile or staminate ones, while 
the minute grains of pollen, being lighter than the atmos- 
phere, rise when they leave the anther, and thus come in 
contact with the stigmas. In Indian corn, on the other 
hand, the grains of pollen are heavier than the surround- 
ing air, and so fall from the sterile flowers of the " tas- 
sel " upon the styles or " silks," and thus fertilize them. 

Prolific Rice [Zizania miliacea) is also found at the 
South. Panicle spreading, sterile and fertile flowers 
intermixed. Awns short, styles united, grain smooth. 
3* 



30 



MEADOW FOXTAIL. 



Annual ; flowers in August, Grows from six to ten feet 
high in shallow water. Ohio, Wisconsin, and the South. 



3. Alopecurus. 



Foxtail Grasses. 



Pig. 19. Meadow FoxtaiL 



Spikelets one-flowered ; glumes boat- 
shaped, compressed and keeled, nearly 
equal, united at tlie base ; lower palea 
awned on the back below the mid- 
dle, upper palea wanting ; stamens 
three ; styles mostly united ; stigmas 
long and feathered; leaves smooth and 
flat. Panicle contracted into a cylin- 
drical, soft spike, like the tnil of a fox, 
from which it derives its generic name. 
Introduced and naturalized from Great 
Britain. 

Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pro- 
tensis), Fig. 19, has an erect, smooth 
stem, two or three feet high, with 
swelling sheaths ; spikes cylindrical, 
obtuse, equalling the sharp cone-like 
glumes ; awn twisted, and twice the 
length of the blossom. Fig. 20. The 
spike not so long as that of Timothy. 
Flowers in Ma}', in fields and pastures. 
Perennial — introduced. 

The meadow foxtail close- 
ly resembles Timothy, but 
may be distinguished from 
it as having one piilea only. 
The spike or head of mead- 
ow foxtail is soft, while 
that of Timothy is rough. 
)| It flowers earlier than Tim- 
othy, and thrives on all soils 
except the dryest sands and 

Fig. 20. 




SLENDER FOXTAIL. 31 

gravels. It is common, but is disliked by many farm- 
ers as a field grass, being very light in proportion to 
its bulk. 

It is a valuable pasture grass, on account of its early 
and rapid growth, and of its being greatly relished by 
stock of all kinds. The stems and leaves are too few 
and light to make it so desirable as a field crop. It 
thrives best on a rich, moist, strong soil, and shoots up 
its flowering stalks so much earlier than Timothy, that it 
need not be mistaken for that grass, though at first sight 
it considerably resembles it. It is superior to Timothy 
as 'a permanent pasture grass, enduring the cropping of 
sheep and cattle better, and sending up a far more luxu- 
riant aftermath. 

It is justly regarded, therefore, as one of the most 
valuable of the native pasture grasses of England, form- 
ing there a very considerable portion of the sward, and 
enduring a great amount of forcing and irrigation. 
Though forming a close and permanent sod when fully 
set, it does not acquire its full perfection and hold of 
the soil until three or four years after being sown. 

The nutritive qualities of meadow foxtail are most 
abundant at the time of flowering. It is said to lose 
upwards of seventy per cent, of its weight in drying, if 
cut in the blossom. 

The seed of meadow foxtail is covered with the soft 
and woolly husks of the flower, while the larger glume is 
furnished with an awn. There are five pounds of seed 
in a bushel, and seventy-six thousand seeds in an ounce. 
An insect attacks the seed while it is forming, and it is 
also subject to blight ; and hence good seed is somewhat 
difficult to procure, and is held at a high price. 

Slender Foxtail (Alopecurus agrestis), Fig. 21, is 
rarely found here, but is sometimes introduced in for- 



32 SLENDER AND FLOATING FOXTAIL. 




Fiff. 21. Slender Foxtail. 



Fig. 22. 



Fig. 24. Floating Foxtail. 



eign seed. It may be recognized by its long, slender 
panicle, tapering at each end, and the long awn which 



FLOATING AND WILD WATER FOXTAIL. 33 

projects beN^ond the pales. In Figs. 22 and 23 the 
flowers are seen. It is distinguished from meadow fox- 
tail by its slender panicle, its larger spikelets, its larger 
ligule, and the roughness of the stem and leaves. It 
possesses no particular agricultural value. Flowers in 
July. Annual. Native of Great Britain. 

Floating Foxtail (Alopecurus geniculatus) has a 
stem ascending, bent, and forming knees at the lower 
joints, as shown in Fig. 24 ; awn projecting beyond the 
palea, Fig. 25, which is rather shorter than the obtuse 
glumes ; anthers linear, upper leaf as long as its sheath ; 
root perennial, fibrous ; joints smooth, long, and narrow, 
of a purple tinge ; leaves flat, sharp, roughish on both 
sides, serrated on the edge. Inflorescence simple pan- 
icled ; spikelets numerous, compressed, erect, with a 
one-awned floret as large as the calyx. Floret of one 
palea, awn slender. Found in moist meadoAvs, ditches, 
ponds, and slow streams, floating on the water. It is 
distinguished from meadow foxtail in having the upper 
sheath about the length of its leaf, and by the project- 
ing awn, while in the meadow foxtail the upper sheath 
is more than twice the length of its leaf. Flowers in 
May and June. 

It is a grass not much relished by stock of any kind, 
while it yields but a small amount of herbage. 

The Wild Water Foxtail {Alopecurus aristulatus) 
also grows in wet meadows, but is of no special agri- 
cultural value. Native of Great Britain. 

4. Phleum. CaVs-Tail. 

Panicle spiked, spikelets compressed, palea shorter 
than the awned glumes, the lower one truncate, usually 
awnless ; styles distinct, filaments hairy, spike dense, 
rough, or harsh. So called from an ancient Greek term 



34 



TIMOTHY. 



signifying cat's tail, the name by which it is still most 
frequently known in Great Britain. 

Timothy, Herd's Grass [Phleum 
pratense). Fig. 26. Spikes cylin- 
drical or elongated ; glumes hairy 
on the back, tipped with a bristle 
less than half their length; leaves 
long,flat, rough, with long sheaths; 
root perennial, fibrous on moist 
soils, on dry ones often bulbous. 
Grows best on damp, peaty soils. 
Flower Fig. 27. The name of Tim- 
othy, by which it is more generally 
-7 known over the country, was ob- 
/// tained from Timothy Hanson, who 
is said to have cultivated it exten- 
sivel}^, and to have taken the seed 
from New York to Carolina. Its 
culture was, according to some 
accounts, introduced into Eng- 
land, from Virginia, by Peter 
Wynche, about the years 1760 or 
1761. 

It is frequently called Herd's 
grass in New England and New 
York, and this was the original 
name under which it was culti- 
vated ; it was derived 
from a man of that name, 
who, according to Jared 
Eliot, found it growing 
wild in a swamp in Pis- 
vf-M-^jNs \ ^^ cataqua, N. H., more 

than a century and a 




QUALITIES OP TIMOTHY. 35 

half ago, and began to cultivate it. In Pennsylvania, and 
states further south, this name is applied to Agrostis 
vulgaris, or the redtop of New England. 

Sinclair states, as the result of the experiments, about 
thirty years ago, at Woburn Abbey, under the auspices 
of the Duke of Bedford, and with the assistance of Sir 
Humphrey Davy, that the crop when ripe exceeds in 
nutritive value the crop at the time of flowering. This 
conclusion is sustained by the more recent investigations 
of Prof Way, whose elaborate analyses of the grasses 
will be found on a subsequent page. This might be 
inferred from the size and weight of the mealy seeds 
when the grass is ripe, as many as thirty bushels of which 
having been known to be produced on a single acre. 

As a crop to cut for hay it is probably unsurpassed 
by any other grass now cultivated. Though somewhat 
coarse and hard, especially if allowed to ripen its 
seed, yet if cut in the blossom, or directly after, it is 
greatly relished by all kinds of stock, and especially so 
by horses, while it possesses a large percentage of 
nutritive matter in comparison with other agricultural 
grasses. It is often sown with clover, but the best 
practical farmers are beginning to discontinue this cus- 
tom, on account of the different times of blossoming of 
the two crops. Timothy being invariably later than 
clover, the former must often be cut too green, before 
blossoming, when the loss is great by shrinkage, and 
when the nutritive matter is considerably less than at a 
little later period ; or, the clover must stand too long, 
when there is an equally serious loss of nutritious mat- 
ter and of palatable qualities in that. 

Timothy thrives best on moist, peaty or loamy soils, 
of medium tenacity, and is not suited to sandy or light 
gravelly lands ; for though on such soils, by great care, 
it can be made to grow and produce fair crops, some 



36 MOUNTAIN CAT'S-TAIL. 

other grasses are better suited to them, and more profit 
able. It grows very readily and yields very large crops 
on favorable soils. I have known instances where its 
yield was four tons to the acre of the best quality of 
hay, the Timothy constituting the bulk of the grass. It 
is cultivated with ease, and yields a large quantity of 
seed to the acre, varying from ten to thirty bushels on 
rich soils. 

In one respect, perhaps, it must be admitted that this 
grass is inferior to meadow foxtail, and that is, in the qual- 
ity of its aftermath ; for while that of the latter is very 
great, the aftergrowth of Timothy is comparatively 
slight, and if allowed to stand too long and then mown 
in a dry time, it starts so slowly as to leave the ground 
exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, unless indeed 
there happens to be a rapid growth of clover to protect 
it. The comparative value of this grass will be referred 
to hereafter. 

It is proper to say, in this connection, that it is fre- 
quently attacked by an insect apparently just before the 
time of blossoming, which causes the stalk to die. The 
ravages of this insect seem to have increased within 
the last few years. My attention has been repeatedly 
called, by observing and practical farmers, to the large 
number of Timothy-stalks killed by this devouring in- 
sect. No means of preventing its ravages are as yet 
known. 

Mountain Cat's-tail {Plileum alpinum) is a grass 
that grows to the height of from six to twelve inches, 
on mountam and hill tops in New Hampshire, and high 
northern latitudes, and is easily distinguished by its 
short, bristly spike or panicle, seldom exceeding an inch 
in length. It is of little or no agricultural value, since 
it is rarely eaten even by sheep. Blossoms in July, 



THE RUSH GRASSES. 37 

5. ViLFA. Bush Grass. 

Spikelets in a contracted or spike-like panicle, one- 
flowered ; glumes keel-shaped, the lower one smaller ; 
pales awnless, nearly equal, generally longer than the 
glumes ; stigmas feathery, seed or grain oblong. 

Rough-leaved Vilfa, Rush Grass ( Vilfa aspera), 
grows from two to four feet high on sandy soils and 
old fields. Lower leaves long, rigid, and rough on the 
edges, tapering to a long twisted point; sheaths partly 
enclosing the panicle ; seed oval, oblong. Flowers in 
September. Perennial. Of no agricultural value. 

Hidden Flowered Vilfa ( Vilfa vagiiioeflora) is an 
annual, with man}'- slender stems, six to twelve inches 
long, leaves awl-shaped, pales nearly equal, and about 
the length of the nearly equal glumes. This grass is 
common on barren, sandy soils, in most parts of the 
country from New England to Illinois, and especially 
so at the South. Of no known agricultural value. 

6. Sporobolus. Drop-seed Grass. 

Spikelets generally one, sometimes two flowered, in 
a contracted or open panicle. Seed loose when ripe, 
whence the name of the genus, from two Greek words, 
signifying to cast forth. 

Rush-like Drop Seed (Sporobolus jimceus) is a pe- 
rennial grass, with long, folding, narrow, rigid leaves, 
with a loose panicle, flowering in August, spikelets 
long and shining. Prairies Wisconsin, and at the 
South. 

Strong-scented Vilfa {Sporobolus heterolepis). — 

Leaves twisting, thread-like, rigid, the lowest as long 

as the stem, which is usually from one to two feet high; 

panicle pyramidal, loose, open ; glumes very unequal ; 

4 



38 THE GENUS AGEOSTIS. 

lower awl-shaped, upper taper-pointed, and longer than 
the lower pales. Perennial, flowering in August. The 
plant emits a strong odor. Connecticut, New York, 
and the Western States to Illinois. 

Laege-panicled Vilfa {Sporobolus cvT/piandrus). — 
Panicle lead-colored, pyramidal ; base usually enclosed 
in the upper sheath, from which the panicle appears to 
burst with spreading branches ; flowers awnless ; lower 
glume very short ; stem from one to three feet high ; 
stamens three, anthers yellowish, styles distinct, stigmas 
white. Grows on sandy soils in New York, and at 
the South and West, where it is common. 

Close-floweeed Deop Seed {Sporoholus compressus). 
— A smooth, leafy grass, with stout, flat stems, found in 
bogs in the pine barrens of New Jersey, where it forms 
tussocks from one to two feet high. Of no agricultural 
value. 

Late Drop Seed [Sporoholus serotinus) is sometimes 
found in low, swampy places, with smooth, slender, 
flattish stems ; leaves few and slender ; panicle spread- 
ing, with hairy branches ; glumes ovate, obtuse, and 
half the length of the palea. Flowers in September. 
It is a delicate grass, of no special agricultural value. 

7. Agrostis. Bent Grass. 

I 

One-flowered spikelets in a loose, open panicle ; 
glumes nearly equal, the lower pointless, and longer 
than the paleas, which are thin and naked ; stamens 
three ; perennial. 

Taller Thin Grass {Agrostis elata). — A stout grass, 
from two to three feet high. Spikelets crowded on the 
branches of the spreading panicle above the middle ; 
lower palea awnless ; upper wanting. In swamps, from 
New Jersey southward. 



TICKLE GRASS. — BROWN BENT. 39 

Thin Grass (Agrostis perennans). — Panicle dififusely 
spreading, pale green ; branches short, divided, and 
flower-bearing from or below the middle ; found in damp, 
shaded places. Perennial. Flowers in June and July. 

Hair Grass or Fly-away Grass, Tickle Grass 
[Agrostis scabra), is another species belonging to this 
genus, with a panicle very loose and spreading, pu7'- 
plish ; the long capillary branches flower-bearing near 
the apex ; stems slender, one to two I'eet high ; leaves 
short and narrow. Flowers in June and July. Common 
in old fields and drained swamps. It is of no particu- 
lar agricultural value. 

The large, loose panicles are exceedingly delicate and 
brittle when the plant is ripe and dry, and easily break 
away from the stalk, when they are blown about by the 
wind scattering their seeds far and wide ; and hence it 
is frequently called " Fly-away Grass," illustrating one 
of the admirable contrivances of nature for the distribu- 
tion of the seeds of grasses and other plants. 

Brown Bent or Dog's Bent Grass (Agrostis canina), 
another species of agrostis, has for its specific charac- 
ters an erect, slender, spreading panicle ; root peren- 
nial and creeping ; stem erect, slender ; leaves flat and 
linear. The palea shorter than the glume, and fur- 
nished with a long, bent awn on the back, a little below 
the middle ; spikelets at first greenish, afterwards brown 
or slightly purple. Meadows and pastures, and Avet, 
peaty places — introduced. Flowers in June and July. 
It is of no special agricultural value. 

The Alpine Brown Bent (Agrostis canina, var. al- 
pina), the Upright Flowered Bent, and many other 
species, might be mentioned ; but, of all the species of 
this genus, the redtop and whitetop are the most com- 
mon as agricultural grasses among us. 



40 



REDTOP. 



Redtop, Finetop, Burden's Grass, Herd's Grass of 

Pennsylvania and Southern 
States (Agrostis vulgaris). 
Fig. 28. — Stems erect, slen- 
der, round, smooth, and pol- 
ished ; roots creeping, pan- 
icle oblong, leaves linear, 
ligule very short ; lower 
palea mostly awnless, and 
three-nerved. Flowers in 
July. A magnified flower is 
shown in Fig. 29. In pas- 
tures and moist meadows 
very common — introduced. 
The term agrostis was the 
ancient Greek word for 
field, and was applied to 
all varieties of grass that 
grew there. 

This valuable grass, so 
common in all our cultivated 
fields, has been an inhab- 
itant of our soils for more 
than a century. It was 
called simply English Grass 
by Eliot, Deane, and other 
early writers, and by the 
English, Fine Bent. 
Most of the grasses 
of this genus are 
known in England 
under the name of 
"Bent Grass," of 
which tliere are 

Fig. 28. Redtop. Fig. 29. 

^ many species. 





AS A PASTURE GRASS. 41 

Redtop is often sown with Timothy and common red 
clover, in which case the clover of course soon disap- 
pears, when Timothy follows, after which redtop usually 
takes its place, and, with some wild grasses, forms a close 
sward. In Pennsylvania, and states further south, it is 
universally known as Herd's Grass — a name applied in 
New England and New York to PIdeum pratense alone. 
It is of somewhat slow growth, but of good or medium 
quality, suited to moist soils, though common to all. 

This grass is probably rather overrated by us. It 
makes a profitable crop for spending, though not so 
large as that obtained from Timothy. It is a good per- 
manent grass, standing our climate as well as any other, 
and consequently well suited to our pastures, in which 
it should be fed close ; for, if allowed to grow up to 
seed, the cattle refuse it ; and this seems to show that 
it is not so much relished by stock as some of the other 
pasture grasses. The fact that cattle eat any grass 
greedily in the spring, is no proof of its excellence or 
nutritious qualities ; since then all grasses are tender 
and full of juice, and many varieties of both grasses 
and shrubs are readily eaten, which, at a more advanced 
stage of growth, are refused. 

It is to be regretted that Professor Way, in his val- 
uable investigations into the nutritive value of tho 
grasses, did not include this in the list analyzed by him. 
At present we have no accurate and reliable means of 
comparison of this with other species of grass, as in 
the case of many other species. 

This grass is known by various names, and is greatly 
modified by soil and cultivation. On a moist, rich soil 
it grows larger than on a poor, thin soil; and not only 
larger, but has a darker, purplish color, with a stem vary- 
ing from eighteen inches to two or two and a half feet 
high ; while on thin, poor, gravelly soils, it seldom 



42 ENGLISH BENT. 

grows over twelve inches, and often not over five or six 
inches high, while it has a lighter color. In the latter 
situations it goes by the name of Finetop, and is uni- 
versally seen in old, dry pastures. In some sections, 
where it is highly esteemed, it goes by the name of 
Burden's or Borden's Grass ; in others, of Rhode Island 
Bent ; but I am unable to discover any difference be- 
tween these and redtop, except that produced by vari- 
eties of soils ; and, on inquiring of some of the largest 
dealers in seeds, I find that orders for all these are sup- 
plied from the same seed. 

Finetop may be regarded as a variety of redtop, 
produced by the character of the soil. 

English Bent, Whitetop, Dew Grass, White Bent, 
Bonnet Grass (Agrostis alba). Stem erect, round, 
smooth, polished, having four or five leaves with rough- 
ish sheaths ; striated, upper sheath longer than its leaf, 
crowned with a long, acute, ragged ligule ; joints smooth ; 
branches numerous, recumbent, rooting at the lower 
joints where they come in contact with the ground, as 
shown in figure 30 ; panicle somewhat narrower than 
in redtop, lightish green, or with a slight tinge of pur- 
ple ; lower or inner palea one half the length of the 
upper, and shorter than the glumes ; five-nerved, awn- 
less, perennial. Native of Europe. 

Whitetop may be known from redtop by the sheaths 
being rough to the touch from above downwards, and 
the ligule being long and acute, and the keel of the 
large glume of the calyx toothed nearly to the base. 
In redtop the sheaths are smooth, ligule short and ob- 
tuse, and the keel of the large glume toothed only on 
the upper part. 

It may be known from Brown Bent (Agrostis ca- 
nina), by having an inner palea in its floret, while in 
Brown Bent the inner palea is wanting. It is very 



PIORIN GRASS. 



43 



common on the Connecticut River meadows, where it 
appears to be indigenous, and is there called the Eng- 
lish Bent, It is oiten used in the manufacture of bon- 
nets. 

FiORiN {Agrostis stolo- 
nifera), Fig. 30, is only a 
variety of English bent, 
which gained great noto- 
riety some years ago in 
Ireland and England, vol- 
umes having been writ- 
ten in its praise, while it 
received the execrations 
of those who found it 
troublesome to eradicate, 
on account of its creep- 
ing and stoloniferous 
roots. It belongs pecu- 
liarly to moist places, 
which are occasionally 
overflowed, and is some- 
times known as the 
Broad-leaved Creeping 
Bent. In the Woburn 
experiments it was found 
to be inferior in nutri- 
tive value to orchard 
grass (Dactylis glome- 
rata) and meadow fes- 
cue, and superior 
to meadow fox- 
tail. A magnified 
flower of this 
grass is shown in 

Fig. 30. Fiorin Grass. Fig. 31. Fj^. 31. 





44 



SOUTHERN BENT. 



The Southern Bent {Agrostis dispar), Fig. 32, is a 
native of this country, and has been highly extolled in 

France. It was at one 
time highly commend- 
ed in England, but 
was very soon discard- 
ed. It furnishes a hay 
of rather coarse qual- 
ity, and yields a large 
produce on good, deep 
sands and calcareous 
soils. It tillers much, 
and when once rooted 
is very vigorous and 
lasting, and conse- 
quently makes a good 
pasture grass. It is 
similar in appearance 
to some of the broad- 
leaved varieties of 
red top, and is said to 
yield more than red- 
top. It has stronger 
and more numerous 
creeping roots, broad- 
er leaves, and more 
upright leafy 
stems. It is 
most frequent- 
ly met with in 
the Southern 
States, and in 
the south of 
. M "v ,^^ , France. Fig. 

' ^ ^ . 33 represents 

Fig. 32. Southern Bent. Tig. 33. 





BEARD GRASS. — INDIAN REED. 45 

the flower of this grass magnified. I am not aware that 
it has been cultivated in this country. 

8. PoLYPOGON. Beard Grass. 

Panicle contracted, spike-like, with one-flowered 
spikelets ; glumes or scales nearly equal, with long 
awns ; stamens three ; grain free. 

Annual Beard Grass {Polijpogon monspeliensis) is 
occasionally found near the coast. It may be known by 
having glumes with awns more than twice their length, 
growing from ten to fifteen inches high ; stem erect, 
round, and a little rough; five or six leaves, flat, rather 
broad and acute ; panicle dense, spikelets one-flowered 
— introduced. It is easily distinguished by the length 
of its awns or beards. Of no agricultural value. Found 
at the Isle of Shoals and on the coast southward. 

9. CiNNA. Wood Reed Grass. 

Glumes acute, strongly keeled ; the lower smaller, 
smooth, naked ; lower longer than the upper, with a 
sharp awn on the back. Stamen one ; grain oblong, 
free ; perennial. Grasses somewhat sweet-scented, 
from two to seven feet high. 

Wood Reed Grass, Indian Reed, Reedy Cinna 
(Cinna arundinacea), has spikelets, one-flowered, 
feathered ; glumes lanceolate, acute, strongly keeled, 
paleaj like the glumes, short-awned ; perennial. Stems 
erect and reed-like, three or four feet high. The spike- 
lets are green, or of a slight purplish tinge. Moist 
woods and swamps ; common at the West and South, as 
well as northward. Flowers in July and August. 
Panicle large, hairy, rather dense. A large, rank grass, 
differing from others in having but one stamen in each 
flower. Of no special agricultural value. 



46 THE DROP-SEED GRASSES. 

Drooping Reed Grass (Cinna pendida). — Branches 
of the loose panicle long and hairy, drooping, ISpike- 
lets about half the size of those in the preceding 
species. Grows in moist woods ; perennial, flowering in 
August. Found around Lake Superior. 

10. MuHLENBERGiA. Dropseed Grass. 

Spikelets one-flowered in contracted slender panicles. 
Glumes minute ; paleee usually hairy, bearded at the 
base, herbaceous, the lower three-nerved, pointed, or 
awned at the tip. Stamens three. Named from Dr. 
Muhlenberg, a distinguished American botanist. 

The AwNLESS Muhlenbergia {Blulilenbergia sobolifera) 
is sometimes found in open, rocky woods, from New 
England to Michigan, and south. It grows from one to 
two feet high, with a simple contracted panicle, very 
slender ; glumes long, pointed, nearly equal ; root pe- 
rennial, creeping, woody ; leaves pale-green, sheaths 
open, ligule wanting. Flowers in August and Septem- 
ber. Of no known agricultural value. 

Clustering Muhlenbergia (dluhlenbergia glomerata). 
— From one to two feet high, stems upright, somewhat 
branched ; panicle oblong, linear, contracted into an 
interrupted glomerate spike, with long peduncles, or 
flower-stalks, and awned glumes ; perennial. Flowers 
in August and September. Common in swamps and 
low grounds. Of no agricultural value. 

The Mexican Muhlenbergia {Muhlenbergia Mexi- 
cana), another species of this genus, has been mistaken 
by some for our fowl meadow. It has an erect stem, 
two to three feet high, much branched ; panicles lateral 
and contracted, branches densely spiked and clustered, 
green or purplish ; glumes pointed, awnless, and un- 
equal. It is perennial. Flowers in August. Frequently 
regarded as a troublesome weed in luw grounds, the 



NIMBLE WILL. — HAIR GRASS. 47 

borders of fields, and even in gardens, where its spread- 
ing roots are difficult to eradicate. Cattle eat it very 
readily, and, as it blossoms late in the season, it is of 
some value. 

The Sylvan Muhlenbergia {Mulilenhergia sylvatica) 
is also rather common in low, rocky woods. Its stem is 
ascending, from two to four feet high, branched, spread- 
ing diffusely ; panicles contracted, densely flowered ; 
glumes nearly equal, bristle pointed, lower palea one- 
awned, twice or three times the length of the spikelets. 
Flowers in August and September. 

WiLLDENOw's Muhlenbergia {Muhlenhercjia Willde- 
novii) is also not uncommon in rocky woods, growing 
about three feet high, with a slender, simple stem, con- 
tracted panicle, loosely flowered, glumes sharp-pointed, 
half as long as the lower palea, which has an awn from 
three to four times the length of the spikelet. 

Nimble Will {3Iuhlenhergia diffusa) is common at 
the West, in Kentucky, Tennessee, and southward, 
where it forms a pasture grass of some value. Its 
stems are diffusely branched, from ten to eighteen 
inches high ; panicles slender, contracted ; glumes 
minute ; awn nearly twice as long as the palea. It is 
found on dry hills and in woods. Flowers in August 
and September ; perennial. Cattle eat it very readily. 

Hair Grass. — Still another species, not unfrequently 
called Hair Grass {Muhlenbergia capiUat-is), is some- 
times found on sandy soils, from New England to Ken- 
tucky, and at the South. 

None of the grasses of this American genus are of 
great value for agricultural purposes, except as they 
add considerably to the mass of living verdure which 
clothes our low lands in beauty to delight the eye and 
swell the heart of the lover of nature. 



48 BLUE JOINT GRASS. 

11. Brachyelytrum. Bracliyelytrum. 

Glumes two, very minute, lower scarcely to be seen ; 
lower pale with a long bristle at the top, upper with 
rudimentary flower at the base; perennial. 

The Erect Muhlenbergia, or Awned Brachyely- 
trum {Brachyelytrum aristatum), is often found in rocky 
woods, on the sides of Wachuset Mountain, and in many 
other similar situations. Flowers in June and July. 
Common also at the West. 



12. Calamagrostis. Ileed Bent Grass. 

One-flowered spikelets, open panicle, contracted or 
spiked ; glumes keeled, about equal to the palea?, 
around which, at the base, is a thick tuft of white 
bristly hairs ; lower pale generally with a slender awn 
on the back ; stamens three ; grain free. 

Blue Joint Grass (Calamagrostis Canadensis). — 
Stems three to five feet high, grayish; leaves flat; 
panicle often purplish ; the glumes acute, lanceolate ; 
lower palea not longer than the very fine hairs, bearing 
an extremely delicate awn below the middle, nearly 
equal to the hairs. Flowers in July. » 

Blue Joint Grass is very common on low grounds. 
It is generally considered a valuable grass, and is eaten 
greedily by stock in the Avinter, being thought by some 
to be nearly as nutritious as Timothy. It grows so 
rank and luxuriant on soils suited to it that an immense 
crop of valuable hay is often made from it. 

Crowded Calamagrostis, or Glaucous Small Eeed 
( Calamagrostis coarctata), is also somewhat common in 
our wet meadows, open swamps, and along low river 
banks. Its stems are from three to five feet high ; seed 
hairy, crowned with a bearded tuft ; lower palea shorter 



BEACH GRASS. 49 

than the taper-pointed tips of the lanceolate glumes, 
almost twice the length of the hairs, with a rigid, short 
awn above the middle. 

Close-flowered Small Reed (Calamagrostis inex- 
pansa) appears with a contracted panicle, longer than 
that of the preceding species ; stem about three feet 
high, erect ; leaves smooth. The panicle is usually 
from four to six inches long, and slender ; the lateral 
branches short, four or five together, rough. This is 
distinguished from the last by a more slender and less 
crowded panicle. Flourishes in swamps and boggy 
places. 

Alpine Reed Bent (Calamagrostis Pickeringii) is a 
species found near the summit of the White Mountains, 
of New Hampshire. Of no agricultural value. 

Purple Bent ( Calamagrostis hrevipilis) is a species 
found in the swamps and pine barrens of New Jersey. 

Woolly Bent [Calamagrostis longifolia) is found 
along the sandy shores of the lakes of northern Michi- 
gan, and further to the north-west. Sheaths clothed 
with wool. 

Beach Grass, Sea-sand Reed, Mat Grass ( Calama- 
grostis arenaria, or Ammophila arundinacea), Fig. 34, 
grows to the height of two or three feet, Avith a rigid 
culm, from stout roots running often to the distance of 
twenty or thirty feet ; leaves wide, rather short, of a 
sea-green color ; panicle contracted into a close, dense 
spike, from six to twelve inches long, nearly white. It 
is found in the sands of the sea-shore, where its thick, 
strong, creeping, perennial roots, with many tubers the 
size of a pea, prevent the drifting of the sand from the 
action of the winds and waves, thus forming a barrier 
against the encroachments of the ocean. 
5 



50 



CULTURE OF BEACH GRASS. 



This grass is very generally diffused 
on sea-coasts over the world, and is 
found inland on the shores of Lake Su- 
perior. It has also been cultivated by 
way of experiment, and with success, 
IE on the sands at Lowell, Massachusetts, 
and still further up on the banks of the 
Merrimack River. Though not culti- 
vated for agricultural purposes, it is of 
PI great value in protecting sandy beaches. 
iff It is preserved in England and Scot- 
; / land by act of parliament. Flowers in 
'/{ August. 

■^ In the year 1853, 1 was requested by 

the late T. W. Harris to make this grass 
a special study, in the course of my ob- 
servations : and since that time I have 
tried, by personal inquiries and by cor- 
respondence, to collect whatever there 
might be of interest in relation to it. 
As it is of national importance in pro- 
tecting our sandy coasts, some account 
of its culture may not be inappropriate 
or uninterestmg. 

The town of Provincetown, once 
called Cape Cod, where the Pilgrims 
first landed, and its harbor, still called 
the harbor of Cape Cod, — one of the 
best and most important in the United 
States, sufficient in depth for ships 
Fig. 34. Beach Grass, of the largest sizc, and in extent to 
anchor three thousand vessels at once, — owe their pres- 
ervation to this grass. To an inhabitant of an inland 
country, it is difficult to conceive the extent and the 
violence with which the sands at the extremity of Cape 



ACTION OF DRIFTING SAND. 51 

Cod are thrown up from the depths of the sea, and left 
on the beach in thousands of tons, by every driving 
storm. These sand-Iiills, when dried by the sun, are 
hurled by the winds into the harbor and upon the town. 
A correspondent at Provincetown says : '^ Beach grass 
is said to have been cultivated here as early as 1812. 
Before that time, when the sand drifted down upon the 
dwelling-houses, — as it did whenever the beach was 
broken, — to save them from burial, the only resort was 
to wheeling it oiF with barrows. Thus tons were re- 
moved every year from places that are now perfectly 
secure from the drifting of sand. Indeed, were it 
not for the window-glass in some of the oldest houses 
in these localities, you would be ready to deny this 
statement; but the sand has been blown with such 
force and so long against this glass, as to make it per- 
fectly ground. I know of some windows through which 
you cannot see an object, except to remind you of that 
passage where men were seen * as trees walking.' '-' 

Congress appropriated, between the years 1826 and 
1839, about twenty-eight thousand dollars, which were 
expended in setting out beach grass near the village 
of Provincetown, for the protection of the harbor. 
From the seed of this grass it is estimated that nearly 
as much ground has become planted with it as was cov- 
ered by the national government. In 1854 five thousand 
dollars were wisely expended by the general govern- 
ment in adding to the work ; and the experience of 
former years was of great value to the efficiency of this 
latter effort. The work of fortification or protection is 
not yet complete. The eastern part of the harbor is 
much exposed to injury from the sand, which now 
empties itself by thousands of tons, during every north 
wind, into it. 

'* It may be proper to state," says the writer quoted 



52 RAISING THE BEACH. 

above, " that this town does much in the way of 'beach- 
grassing^ by its 'beach-grass committee,' whose duty it is 
to enter any man's enclosure, summer or winter, and 
set out grass, if the sand is uncovered and movable. 
By this means we are now rid of sand-storms, which 
were once the terror of the place, being something like 
snow-storms, for drifts, which were to be removed. 
Our streets are now hardened with clay, which has 
been imported ; and, instead of its being buried, as it 
would once have been in a few days, I notice that the 
surveyors have to resort to sprinkling it with sand in 
Avet weather, so effectually has the culture of beach 
grass answered its end. 

" The mode of culture is very simple. The grass is 
pulled up by hand and placed in a hole about a foot 
deep, and the «and pressed down about it. These holes 
are dug about one foot and a half apart. The spring is 
the usual time of planting, though many do this work 
in the fall or winter. The roots of the grass, from 
which it soon covers the ground, are very long. I 
have noticed them ten feet, and I suppose upon high 
hills they extend down into wet sand." 

Many years ago, the beach which connects Truro 
and Provincetown was broken over, and a considera- 
ble body of it swept away. Beach grass Avas imme- 
diately planted, and the beach was thus raised to suffi- 
cient height, and in some places into hills. The opera- 
tion of it is like that of brush or bushes, cut and laid 
upon the ground, in accumulating snow in a drifting 
wind. The sand is collected around the grass, and, as 
the sand rises, the grass also rises to overtop it, and 
will continue to grow, no matter how high the sand-hill 
may rise ; and this process goes on over the whole sur- 
face of the plantation, and thus many acres have been 
raised far above their original level. 



PROTECTED BY LAW. 53 

A committee of the Legislature, appointed in 1852, to 
inquire into the means of preserving Cape Cod Harbor, 
in speaking of the beach between the ocean on the 
north and the channel of East Harbor, — and which is 
all that prevents the sea from breaking over into Cape 
Cod Harbor, — say: "This tract consists of loose sand, 
driven about by every high wind, which throws it up in 
heaps like snow-drifts. The wind, from any point from 
north-east to north-west, drives the sand directly from 
said beach into the channel of East Harbor, and is car- 
ried by a strong current into the north-east part of Cape 
Cod Harbor. The ocean on the north is wasting this 
narrow beach -away in every storm, and the current in 
East Harbor channel undermining and destroying it on 
the south. The decay of said beach has been on the 
increase for several years ; it has narrowed within 
seven or eight years, by the tide that runs through 
East Harbor channel, from eight to ten rods. Where 
the mail-stage travelled only one year since, is now the 
channel, with six feet of water at low tide, and from 
twelve to fourteen feet at high water." 

The first effort made by the state for the preserva- 
tion of this important harbor appears to have been in 
1714. The town was incorporated in 1727, and was at 
that time a place of some extent ; but the inhabitants 
soon began to leave, and in less than twenty years 
it was reduced to two or three families. After the 
Revolution the place revived, and is now a thriving 
town. 

The object of the law of 1714 was to arrest the 
destruction of the trees and shrubbery on the province 
lands, and on the preservation of which it was thought 
the harbor depended, as they prevented the drifting of 
the sand. 

In 1824 commissioners were appointed by the state 
5* 



54 ANNUAL PLANTING. 

government to examine the subject, and report what 
action was necessary to prevent the rapid destruction 
of the harbor. They recommended an act to prevent 
the destruction of beach grass, and reported that the 
sum of thirty-six hundred dollars would be necessary 
to set out that plant, make fences, &c. The Legisla- 
ture, in 1826, applied to Congress for that sum; and Con- 
gress has, at different times, made appropriations to the 
amount of about thirty-eight thousand dollars, which 
seem to have failed in some measure to accomplish 
the object intended, and East Harbor is still rapidly 
filling up. 

Many years ago, it was as customary to warn the 
inhabitants of Truro and some other towns on the 
Cape, every spring, to turn out to plant beach grass, 
as it was in the inland towns to turn out and mend the 
roads. This was required by law, with suitable penal- 
ties for its neglect, and took place in April. 

A farmer, of much practical knowledge of this sub- 
ject, says : " Since the cattle have been kept from the 
beaches, by the act of the Legislature of 1826,' the 
grass and shrubs have sprung up of their own accord, 
and have, in a great measure, in the westerly part of 
the Cape, accomplished what was intended to be done 
by planting grass. It is of no use to plant grass on 
the high parts of the beach. Plant on the lowest parts 
and the}"^ will raise, while the highest places, over which 
the grass will spread, are levelling by the wind. To 
preserve the beach, it must be kept as level as possible. 

" Beach grass is of but little value except to prevent 
our loose, sandy beaches from being drifted about by 
the wind. We have but one species, and this is fast 
spreading over our upland, making it useless for culti- 
vation. Land that would produce from twenty to 
twenty-five bushels of Indian corn to the acre, with- 



BLACK MOUNTAIN RICE. 55 

out any manure, twenty-five or thirty years ago, is now 
overrun with beach grass, and will produce nothing 
else. If the dead grass is burnt off in the spring, it 
will make a pretty good pasture for cattle and horses. 
It keeps green longer than any other grass we have. 
It can be cultivated from the seed or by transplanting. 
Our loose, sandy beaches are the most suitable for its 
growth." 

Beach grass seems to require the assistance of some 
disturbing causes to enable it to attain its full perfec- 
tion. The driving winds in some localities are suffi- 
cient, while in other places, where it does not thrive 
so well, it is probable that an iron-tooth harrow would 
greatly improve and aid its growth. It has been exten- 
sively cultivated or propagated from the seed on many 
parts of Cape Cod, on Nantucket, and in fact to con- 
siderable extent all along our coast. It comes in of 
itself along Nantasket beach from seed borne by the 
tides, probably, from the Cape. It has been extensively 
used, at times, in this countr}^ for the manufacture of 
coarse paper, though, if I am rightly informed, its man- 
ufacture has been discontinued in Massachusetts. In 
other countries it is manufactured into door-mats and 
brushes, mats for pack-saddles, meal-bags, and hats, and 
into ropes for various purposes. 

13. Oryzopsis. Ilountain nice. 

Spikelets greenish and rather large, one-flowered ; 
glumes several-nerved, nearly equal, awnless, longer 
than the oblong flower; scales linear, long as the ovary; 
inflorescence in narrow panicles. 

Black Mountain Rice ( Oryzopsis melanocarpa) is a 
common grass in dry, rocky woods, with a leafy stem 
from two to three feet high, a simple panicle, palese or 
husks of the seed blackish when ripe, the lower one 



56 WHITE MOUNTAIN RICE. 

surrounding the upper, with a straight aAvn at the tip, 
nearly an inch long. Stamens three, anthers linear, yel- 
low ; styles distinct. Flowers in August. Not cultivated. 
White Mountain Rice {Oryzopsls asperifolia) is 
also common on steep, rocky hillsides, and in dry woods. 
Stems clasped by sheaths, bearing a mere rudimentary 
blade, overtopped by the long and rigid linear leaf from 
the base ; awn two or three times the length of the 
hairy whitish husks or paleje. Perennial, growing from 
a foot to eighteen inches high. The lower or radical 
leaves remain green through the winter. The large 
seeds are abundantly farinaceous, and make a very white 
and fine flour; but the grain drops so easily as to make 
it impracticable to gather it in large quantities. 

Smallest Oryzopsis, or Canadian Rice {Oryzopsis 
Canadensis), is another species sometimes found. These 
grasses are easily distinguished from each other. The 
first has an awn thrice the length of the blackish palea; 
the second, an awn two or three times the length of the 
whitish palea; the third, an awn short, deciduous, or 
wanting. The first grows from two to three feet high ; 
the second, from ten to eighteen inches ; the third, 
from six to fifteen inches. Natural habitat, dry, rocky 
woods. Perennial. Not cultivated. 

It may be proper to remark, in passing, that many 
grasses which are now worthless, or of no known value 
in agriculture, might be made very useful to cultivate 
for the purpose of turning in green for manure. 

The same may be said of many of the rank weeds 
which are now regarded as the pests of our fields and 
roadsides. Some of them, if sown on winter grains, 
would spring up luxuriantly after the grain was removed, 
drawing much of their nutriment from the air, and cor- 
porifying it, as it were, to be turned in while still green, 
with the stubble, and thus add vastly to the fertility 



FEATHER GRASS. 57 

and productiveness of the soil. For this purpose those 
kinds which produce a large quantity of small seeds, 
and a large, luxuriant growth of leaves, are best. The 
perennials might be sown with winter grains, the an- 
nuals with spring. 

The practice of turning in green crops for manure is 
not of recent origin. Its benefits have been long 
known; but the clovers, buckwheat, and other large- 
seeded grasses, have generally been used for this pur- 
pose. But many other plants offer a cheaper substitute, 
since their seeds are smaller and less expensive, the 
only cost, indeed, being the expense of gathering. 

14. Stipa. Feather Grass. 

Spikelets one-flowered ; flowers stipitate or borne on 
a slender stalk ; glumes equal, membranaceous ; pales 
longer than the glumes, thick, and leathery, the lower 
tipped with a very long awn, bent above, and twisted at 
the base ; seed-scale rounded or cylindrical. Inflores- 
cence in spreading panicles. Perennial, growing from 
one to two feet high. 

Feather Grass [Stipa pennata) is one of the most 
beautiful of this genus. The awn of the floret is very 
long and feathery, rising from the summit of the outer 
palea, and often more than twenty times its length, and, 
with the exception of an inch at the base, which is 
twisted, soft and feathery through its whole length. 
The root is perennial and fibrous; the stem erect, round, 
smooth, hollow, from eighteen inches to two feet high ; 
sheaths of the leaves roughish, and covering the joints. 
Stigmas feathery. 

This grass is well known for its great beauty, and is 
cultivated in gardens, and gathered for vases and parlor 
ornaments. It grows wild in many parts of Germany, 
in dry, sandy soils. 

Richardson's Feather {Stipa Bichardsonii) is a spe- 



68 



BLACK OAT GRASS. 



cies growing wild in the vicinity of Sebago Lake, in 
Maine, and some other places. Glumes nearly equal, 
oblong; panicle loose, slender branches, awn of tha 
palea twisted. Of no agricultural value. 

Black Oat Grass {Stipa ave- 
nacea) is sometimes met with in 
dry, sandy woods, but is of no 
agricultural value. It rises from 
one to two feet; its panicle is 
open, leaves almost bristle-form, 
palea blackish, nearly as long as 
the almost equal glumes ; awn 
bent above, twisted below. 

It is one of the prairie grasses 
of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, 
&c., and is common at the South, 
flowering in June and July. Fig. 
35 represents the panicle of this 
grass, with the naked glumes, 
while the upper palea and its bent 
and twisted awn is seen in Fig. 
36. 

Porcupine Grass {Stiija spar- 
tea) has a shorter, contracted pan- 
icle, a stouter stem, rising from 
one to three feet high : glumes 
loose, greenish, slender, pointed, 
longer than the palese ; awn strong 
and twisted, from three to six 
inches long, downy below, and 
rough above. 

This is another prairie grass of 
Illinois, Iowa, and the north-west- 
ward, and is also a native of southern Europe and north- 
ern Africa. It is not a cultivated grass. 




Fig. 35. Black Oat Grass. 



TRIPLE AWN GRASSES. 59 

15. Aristida. Three-awned Grass. 

Flowers stipitate or on stalks ; glumes unequal, often 
bristle-pointed; palese two, lower tipped with a triple 
awn, upper smaller, awnless ; ovary smooth, scales two, 
smooth, entire ; spikelets in simple or panicled racemes 
or spikes. 

Poverty Grass {Aristida dichofoma) is known by its 
tufted stems or culms being much ibrked or branched, 
from five to fifteen inches high. Spikelets small, crowded 
in short, contracted racemes ; side awns minute ; middle 
no longer than the palea, bent downwards. Common in 
old, dry, sterile fields, especially at the South, and in 
llHnois and adjacent states. 

Threeawned Grass {Aristida ramosissima). — Stems 
diffuse ; spiked raceme loosely flowered ; glumes three 
to five nerved, nearly equalling the flower; the awn 
bent back, an inch long. Found on dry prairies of 
Illinois, and in Kentucky. 

Slender Three-awned Grass {Aristida gracilis) is 
also found in old, sandy fields, dry, sterile hill-sides and 
pine barrens, but is of no value for cultivation. Its 
stem is slender and erect, lateral awns as long as the 
palea. Never found except on the poorest soil. 

Downy Triple Awn {Aristida stricta). — Leaves 
straight, erect, rigid, downy ; lower palea smooth ; awns 
Bpreading, the middle one longest; glumes unequal, short, 
pointed. Perennial. Grows from two to three feet 
high, in rocky and shaded places, in Michigan, Illinois, 
Virginia, and southward. Of no value for cultivation. 

Purple Triple Awn {Aristida purpurascens) has 
rough, but less rigid leaves; lower palea rough, Avith 
slender lateral nerves ; middle awn an inch long. Com- 
mon from Massachusetts to llhnois and southward. 



60 MARSH GRASS. 

Prairie Triple Awn (Aristida oligantha) is a species 
found by Michaux on the prairies of Illinois, with a 
straight, erect stem, branching below ; spikelets large, 
distant, solitary, alternate, short-pedicelled ; glumes 
equalling the flower ;' awns long, the lateral a little 
shorter than the middle. Found also in Virginia and 
to the south-westward. 

LoNG-AWNED POVERTY Gr ASS (Artstlda tubercuJosa). — 
Stem branched below, tumid at the joints ; panicles 
loose, branchmg in pairs, one of which is short and two- 
flowered, the other longer and several-flowered ; glumes 
longer than the palea, which is tipped with the common 
stalk of the three bent awns, twisting together at the 
base. It is found on sandy soils, from New England to 
Wisconsin. It is one of the prairie grasses ot Illinois 
and southward. 

16. Spartina, Harsh Grass. 

Spikelets one-flowered, very flat, in two rows on the 
outer side of a triangular rachis ; glumes compressed, 
keeled, pointed and rough, bristly on the keel ; stamens 
three ; styles long, united. 

Fresh Water Cord Grass, or Tall Marsh Grass 
{Spartina cyimsuroides). — This is found on the banks 
of streams and lakes, rising to the height of from two to 
four feet, with slender culm, narrow leaves, two to four 
feet long, tapering to a point, smooth except on the 
margins ; spikes of a straw-color, five to fourteen in 
number, spreading, glumes awn-pointed. Found in 
Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Minne- 
sota. Flowers in August. 

The Salt Reed Grass {Spartina polystachT/a) has a 
stout culm, from four to nine feet high ; broad leaves, 
roughish underneath and on the margins ; spikes twenty 



TOOTHACHE GRASS. — MUSKIT. 61 

to fifty in number, forming a dense, oblong, purplish 
cluster. It is found on salt and brackish marshes, be- 
low high tide, especially southward. 

Rush Salt Grass (Spartina juncea) grows from one 
to two feet high, stem slender, leaves narrow, rush-like, 
and very smooth. It is common on salt marshes and 
sandy sea-beaches, and flowers in August. 

Salt Marsh Grass (Spartina stricta) grows from one 
to three feet high, leafy to the top, and has from two 
to four spikes. Glumes pointed, very unequal. Salt 
marshes, Pennsylvania and South. 

Rough Marsh Grass [Spartina glabra), a variety of 
the last, is found commonly on the sea-coast from New 
England southward, with stem and leaves rather longer 
than the preceding, and spikelets from five to twelve, 
crowded. 

Smooth Marsh Grass {Spartina alterniflora), another 
variety of salt-marsh grass, with spikes more slender, 
three to five inches long. It has a strong and rancid 
odor, and is common with the last. 

17. Ctenhtm. Toothache Grass. 

Glumes persistent, lower one smaller, upper concave 
below, with a stout awn bent like a horn on the back. 
Flowers four to six, all neutral but one. Stamens three. 

Toothache Grass ( Ctenium Americamcm) rises from 
three to four feet high, with a simple roughish stem ; 
longer glume warty and awned. It is found in the wet 
pine barrens of New Jersey, but is of no agricultural 
value. 

18. Bouteloua. Gramma Grass. 

Spikes short, solitary, racemed ,• spikelets alternate, 
two to three floAvered, the terminal flower imperfect. 

6 



62 MUSKIT. — BEARD GRASS. 

Glumes two, keeled, the upper layer shorter than the 
flowers. Stamens three, anthers orange or red. Rachis 
extending beyond the spikelets. 

MusKiT, Mesquit, or Mezquite Grass (Bouteloua 
oligostachya), grows from six to twelve inches high, 
leaves narrow, spikes one to five ; glumes and lower 
fertile palea slightly hairy, triple awned. Westward, 
Iowa and Minnesota. 

Bristly Muskit {Bouteloua Mrsuta) grows in tufts 
from eight to twenty inches high ; leaves flat, lance- 
like, hairy ; lower glume rough, with stiff hairs from 
dark warty glands ; lower palea downy. 

Hairy Muskit (Bouteloua curtipendula) grows in 
tufts from perennial roots, one to three feet high ; 
sheaths often hairy, leaves narrow, spikes thirty to 
sixty in number, flowers rough; the sterile are reduced 
to a single small awn, or to three awns shorter than the 
fertile flower. 

Muskit or Mesquit grass is cultivated to considerable 
extent in some parts of the South, as in Louisiana, and 
has become a favorite grass in many sections. Very 
satisfactory experiments with it have also been made 
in Virginia. 

19. Gymnopogon. Beard Grass. 

Spikelets one-flowered, perfect, with a rudiment of 
a second ; glumes awl-shaped, keeled, nearly equal ; 
stamens three ; stigmas purple, pencil-shaped ; leaves 
short, flat, and thick. 

Naked Beard Grass (Gymnopogon racemosus) grows 
in clusters, wiry, leafy, spikes flower-bearing to the 
base ; glumes pointed about half the length of the awn 
of the fertile flower. Common on the pine barrens of 
New Jersey, and at the South. 



BERMUDA GRASS. — EGYPTIAN GRASS. 63 

Short-leaved Beard Grass {Gymnopogon hrevifoUus). 

— Spikes on long stalks, flower-bearing only above the 
middle ; lower palea short-awned ; glumes pointed. 
Found in Delaware and southward. 

20. Cynodon. Bermuda Grass. 

Spikelets one-flowered, spikes usually digitate at the 
naked summit of the flowering stalks ; glumes keeled, 
pointless ; palese pointless and awnless, the lower and 
longer boat-shaped. Stamens three. Creeping peren- 
nials. 

Bermuda Grass, Scutch Grass ( Cynodon dactylon). 

— Glumes very nearly equal ; spikes four to five ; 
pales smooth; stems smooth, hollow, prostrate at the 
base, with four or five leaves, flat or folded, acute, 
rigid, hairy, rough at the edges ; lower joints covered 
by the sheaths ; inflorescence digitate, purplish ; sta- 
mens three ; stigmas feathery. Penn. and southward. 

This grass is distinguished from Digitaria in the spike- 
lets, which are laterally compressed, and in rising singly 
from the rachis, and by wanting the ligule. In Digitaria 
the spikelets rise from the rachis in twos or threes, and 
the ligule is very distinct. 

It grows abundantly on the "West India Islands, and 
in the southern part of the United States, where it is 
esteemed as a very valuable grass. 

21. Dactyloctenium. Egyptian Grass. 

Spikelets several-flowered, crowded on one side of 
the flattened rachis, forming two to five close, comb- 
like spikes, digitate at the apex ; glumes compressed and 
keeled, the upper one awned ; stamens three. 

Egyptian Grass (Dactyloctenium ^gyptiacum), the 
only species referred to this genus, is found in culti- 
vated fields and yards in Virginia and southward. 
Stems difi'use, often creeping at the base ; spikes four 



64 CROP GRASS. 

or five , leaves hairy at the base. It is a trouble- 
some annual weed, introduced from Europe. Found 
also in Illinois. 

22. Eleusine. Crop Gi^ass. 

Spikelets two to six flowered, overlapping each other 
in close spikes on one side of a flattish rachis ; spikes dig- 
itate, clustered ; glumes aAvnless and pointless ; stamens 
three ; palea awnless and pointless. 

Crop Grass, Crab Grass, Wire Grass, Crow's-foot 
[Eleusine Indica). — Stems ascending, flattened, branch- 
ing at the base ; spikes two to five, greenish. 

Thife is an annual, and flowers through the season, 
growing from eight to fifteen inches high, and forming a 
fine green carpeting in lawns and yards. It is indige- 
nous in Mississippi, Alabama, and adjoining states, and 
serves for hay, grazing, and turning under as a fertilizer. 
It grows there with such luxuriance, in many sections, as 
never to require sowing, and yields a good crop where 
many of the more northern grasses would fail. 

23. Leptochloa. Slender Grass. 

Spikelets three to many flowered, loosely spiked on 
one side of a long, thread-like rachis ; glumes membra- 
naceous, keeled, sometimes awl-pointed ; lower palea 
three nerved, and larger than the upper. Stamens two 
or three. 

Pointed Slender Grass {Leptochloa mucronata) is an 
annual, growing from two to three feet high, and flow- 
ering in August. Sheaths hairy ; spikes from twenty 
to forty, two to four inches long, in a long panicle-like 
raceme ; glumes pointed, about equalling the three or 
four awnless flowers. Found in fields from Virginia to 
Illinois, and southward. 

Clustering Slender Grass [Leptochloa fascicularis). 
— Spikelets seven to eleven flowered, longer than the 



TALL REDTOP. 65 

glumes, smooth ; leaves longer than the bent branch- 
ing stems, which are from eight to fifteen inches long, 
the upper sheath forming the base of the panicle-hke 
raceme ; palese hairy, margined towards the base, the 
lower having two small lateral teeth, and an awn at the 
cleft of the apex. 

Found in brackish marshes on the coast from Rhode 
Island southward, and from Illinois southward on the 
Mississippi River. Flowers in August. 

24. Tricuspis, 

Spikelets three to twelve flowered ; glumes unequal ; 
rachis of the spike bearded below each flower ; lower 
palea much larger than the upper ; convex, hairy on the 
back, three-nerved, and three-pointed by the projection 
of the nerves; stamens three ; stigmas dark purple. 

Tall 'Ret)TOI' (Tricuspis seslerioides) is a perennial, 
growing from three to five feet high, on dry and sandy 
fields, from New York to Illinois, and southward, flow- 
ering in August. It is a showy grass, with an upright, 
very smooth stem, smooth leaves, and large compound 
spreading panicle ; spikelets very numerous ; shining, 
purple flowers, hairy towards the base. It has some- 
times been cut for hay, but is not considered of much 
value. 

Sand Grass (Tricuspis purpurea) is also found on 
dry, sandy soils, along the coast, flowering in August 
and September. It is acid to the taste, grows from six 
inches to a foot high, in numerous stems, in a tuft from 
the same root, and has numerous bearded joints. Ex- 
tends southward from Massachusetts to Virginia, and 
still further down the coast. ^ 

Horned Sand Grass (Tricuspis cornuta) is another 
species found at the South. Of no agricultural value. 



QQ TWIN GRASS. 

25. DUPONTIA. 

Spikelets two to four flowered ; glumes nearly equal- 
ling the flowers, with a cluster of long hairs at the base 
of each flower. PalccS thin, lower one entire, point- 
less ; stamens three ; perennial. Mostly arctic grasses. 

DupoNTiA Grass {Dupontia cooleyi) is a tall grass, 
with roughish leaves; a large compound panicle; very 
unequal glumes ; palea awnless. Found in Michigan, 
in the borders of a swamp in Washington, Macomb 
county. Of no agricultural value. 

26. DiARRHENA. 

Spikelets two to ten flowered, in an open panicle ; 
glumes much shorter than the flowers, the lower much 
smaller ; lower palea egg-shaped, convex on the back, 
three-nerved above, sharp-pointed ; stamens two. Grain 
large. 

Twin Grass [Diarrhena Americana) grows from one 
and a half to three feet high, along the shaded banks 
of rivers and woods, from Ohio and Illinois southwards. 
Flowering in August. 

27. Dactylis. CocTc's-foot 

Spikelets several-flowered, crowded in clusters, one- 
sided ; panicle dense at the top, branching ; glumes 
two; herbaceous, keeled; awn pointed; stamens three; 
seed oblong, acute, free. Named from dadylus, a finger. 

Orchard Grass, Rough Cock's-foot {Dactylis glom- 
erata), flowers in dense clusters. Its stem is erect, 
about three feet high. I have found specimens, in good 
soil, over five feet high. Leaves linear, flat, dark-green, 
rough on both surfaces, which, with the fancied resem- 
blance of its clusters to the foot of a barn-yard fowl, 
have given it the common name in England of rough 



ORCHARD GRASS. 



67 



cock's-foot. Root perennial. Flowers in June and 
July. Not uncommon in fields and pastures. It is 
shown in Fig. 37, and a magnified spikelet in Fig. 38. 




fig. 38. Fig. 37. Orcliard Grass. 



68 ORCHARD GRASS. — ITS CULTIVATION. 

This is one of the most vahiable and widely-known 
of all the pasture grasses. It is common to every 
country in Europe, to the north of Africa, and to Asia, 
as well as to America. Its culture was introduced into 
England from Virginia, where it had been cultivated 
some years previously, in 1764. It forms one of the 
most common grasses of English natural pastures, on 
rich, deep, moist soils. It became, soon after its intro- 
duction into England, an object of special agricultural 
interest among cattle feeders, having been found to be 
exceedingly palatable to stock of all kinds. Its rapidity 
of growth, the luxuriance of its aftermath, and its power 
of enduring the cropping of cattle, commend it highly 
to the farmer's care, especiall}' as a pasture grass. 

As it blossoms earlier than Timoth}', and about the time 
of red clover, it makes an admirable mixture with that 
plant, to cut in the blossom and cure for hay. As a 
pasture grass it should be fed close, both to prevent its 
forming thick tufts and to prevent its running to seed, 
when it loses a large proportion of its nutritive matter, 
and becomes hard and wiry. All kinds of stock eat it 
greedily when green. 

Judge Buel said of it, " I should prefer it to almost 
every other grass, and cows are very fond of it." 
Elsewhere he says : " The American Cock's-foot, or 
Orchard Grass, is one of the most abiding grasses we 
have. It is probably better adapted than any other 
grass to sow with clover and other seeds for permanent 
pasture or for hay, as it is fit to cut with clover, and 
grows remarkably quick when cropped by cattle. Five 
or six days' growth in summer suffices to give a good 
bite. Its good properties consist in its early and rapid 
growth, and its resistance of drouth ; but all agree that 
it should be closely cropped. Sheep will pass over 
every other grass to feed upon it. If suffered to grow 



PRACTICAL OPINIONS. 69 

long without being cropped, it becomes coarse and 
harsh. Colonel Powell (a late eminent farmer of Penn- 
sylvania), after growing it ten years, declares that it 
produces more pasturage than any other grass he has 
seen in America. On being fed very close, it has pro- 
duced good pasture after remaining five days at rest. 
It is suited to all arable soils. Two bushels of seed are 
requisite for an acre when sown alone, or half this 
quantity when sown with clover. The seed is very 
light, weighing not more than twelve or fourteen 
pounds to the bushel. It should be cut early for hay." 

Mr. Sanders, a well-known practical farmer and cattle 
breeder, of Kentucky, says of it: " My observation and 
experience have induced me to rely mainly on orchard 
grass and red clover; indeed, I now sow no other sort 
of grass-seed. These grasses, mixed, make the best hay 
of all the grasses for this climate (Kentucky). It is 
nutritious, and well adapted as food for stock. Orchard 
grass is ready for grazing in the spring ten or twelve 
days sooner than any other that affords a full bite. 
When grazed down and the stock turned off, it will be 
ready for re-grazing in less than half the time required 
for Kentucky blue grass. It stands a severe drought 
better than any other grass, keeping green and growing 
when other sorts are dried up. In summer it will 
grow more in a day than blue grass will in a week. 
Orchard grass is naturally disposed to form and grow 
in tussocks. The best preventive is a good preparation 
of the ground, and a sufficiency of seed uniformly sown. 
The late Judge Peters, of Pennsylvania, — who was at 
the head of agricultural improvement in that state for 
many years, — preferred it to all other grasses." 

Orchard grass is less exhausting to the soil than rye 
grass or Timothy. It will endure considerable shade. 
In a porous subsoil its fibrous roots extend to a great 



70 KCELERIA EATONIA. 

depth. Its habit of growth unfits it for a lawn grass. 
Its seed weighs twelve pounds to the bushel, and, to 
sow alone, about twenty-four pounds to tlie acre are 
required to make sure of a good crop. It should not 
be sown alone except for the sake of raising the seed. 
It is worthy of a much more extended cultivation 
among us. 

28. KCELEBIA. 

Spikelets crowded in a dense, spike-like panicle, three 
to seven flowered. Glumes and lower palea compressed, 
keeled ; stamens three ; grain free. 

Crested Kceleria {Koderia cristata) is a perennial 
grass from two to two and a half feet high, and some- 
what common on dry, gravelly places from Pennsylvania 
to Illinois and westward. Panicle narrowly spiked ; 
lower palea pointed ; leaves flat, the lower ones some- 
what hairy. 

Truncated Kcelerta {Koderia truncata) has a dense 
and contracted panicle, with the spikelets crowded on 
the short branches ; upper glume truncate, obtuse, 
rough on the back. Perennial ; growing from two to 
three feet high, and flowering in June, on dry soils 
from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, and southward. 

29. Eatonia. 

Glumes nearly equal, but dissimilar, and shorter than 
the flowers ; the lower one-nerved, keeled ; the upper 
three-nerved on the back, not keeled. Lower palea 
oblong, compressed, boat-shaped ; stamens three. 

Pennsylvanian Eatonia {Eatonia Pennsylvanica) is a 
common grass in moist woods and meadows, in the 
Eastern, Middle, and Western States ; growing about 
two feet high, perennial, and flowering in June and 



RATTLESNAKE GRASS. 71 

July. Its panicle is long and loose ; leaves short and 
flat, and of a pale-green color. 

30. Melica. Melic Grass. 

Spikelets from tAvo to five flowered ; one, and some- 
times two or three of the upper flowers imperfect and 
dissimilar, wrapped around each other. Glumes usually 
large, convex, obtuse ; stamens three. 

Melic Grass [Melica mutica) is a grass natural to the 
rich soils of the Western States, Ohio, Illinois, and Wis- 
consin, and grows with a loose, smooth, simple panicle, 
from two to four feet high ; glumes unequal ; two fer- 
tile flowers. It is perennial, and flowers in June. 

31. Glyceria. Manna Grass. 

Spikelets rounded ; . rachis separating into joints ; 
glumes two, pointless, nearly equal ; palete awnless, the 
lower rounded on the back ; five to seven nerved ; sta- 
mens three ; root creeping, perennial. Glycei-ia from 
a Greek word, signifying sweet, from the taste of the 
grain. 

Rattlesnake Grass ( Glyceria Canadensis) has an ob- 
long, pyramidal, spreading panicle, with beautifully 
drooping spikelets, six or eight flowered, and long, 
roughish leaves, which together make it an object of 
interest and search for bouquets and vases ; resembling 
the quaking grass in general appearance. It is very 
common in wet, boggy places, growing from two to 
three feet high, but possesses little or no agricultural 
value. Found common in New England and the West- 
ern States, in soils suitable to its growth. Flowers in 
July. 

The Obtuse Spear Grass {Glyceria ohtusa) has a 
dense, narrowly oblong panicle ; spikelets six or seven 
flowered, erect, swelling ; lower palea obtuse, leaves 



MEADOW SPEAR GRASS 




Fig. 40. 



Fig. 41. Fig. 42. Fig 39. Meadow Spear Grass. 



MEADOW SPEAR GRASS. 73 

smooth, as long as the stem. This is an aquatic grass, 
found occasionally on the borders of ponds from New- 
England to Pennsylvania, near the coast. Flowers in 
August. Of no agricultural value. 

Long Panicled Manna Grass ( Glyceria ehngata) is a 
very distinct species ; stems one to three feet high ; 
panicle branching, narrowly elongated, recurving ; the 
branches appressed ; spikelets pale, erect, three to four 
flowered ; lower palea obtuse, rather longer than the 
upper; stamens two, stigmas compound, leaves very 
long and rough. Flourishes in wet woods and swamps 
from New England to Michigan, and northward. Flow- 
ers in June and July ; perennial. Of no special agri- 
cultural value. 

Meadow Spear Grass, Nerved Manna Grass {Gly- 
ceria nervata), is the fowl meadow of m.any farmers, 
while the grass commonly called fowl meadow by others 
{Poa serotina) often goes with them under the name 
of bastard fowl meadow. It has a broad, open panicle, 
often six inches in length, with slender branches ; spike- 
lets small, ovate, oblong, green ; leaves in two rows 
like a fan, a little rough ; stem a little compressed, one 
to three feet high. 

It is a native American grass, the nutritive value of 
which, according to Sinclair, is equal at the time of flow- 
ering and when the seed is ripe, while the nutritive matter 
of the lattermath is said to be greater than that of most 
other grasses. It is a hardy grass, grows best on moist 
ground, but it is said also to succeed on lightish upland 
soils. It is a very valuable native grass, retaining its 
nutritive qualities until the seed is ripe, and then sending 
up large, fan-like shoots, which are succulent and nutri- 
tious. It would be a valuable ingredient in a mixture 
for wet or moist pastures. Common. It is seen in Fig. 
7 



74 



PALE MANNA GRASS. 



39, while in Fig. 40 are seen its root stalks. A magnified 
spikelet is shown in Fig. 41, and the calyx in Fig. 42. 

.1^ 




Fig. 43. Water Spear Grass. 



The Pale Manna Grass {Glyceria pallida) grows 
mostly in shallow water, and is very common. Panicle 



WATER SPEAR GRASS. 75 

erect, with hairy branches, spreading, rough ; spikelets 
few, linear, oblong, five to nine flowered ; lower palea 
oblong, minutely ^"ve-^oo^Aeo^; leaves short, sharp-pointed, 
and pale-green. Flowers in July. Culms one to three 
feet long, creeping at the base. 

Pale manna grass is of no value for cultivation, since, 
from the place of its growth, it could hardly be used 
to advantage, like many other grasses which are now 
worthless, for turning in green as a manure. The rank, 
leafy grasses, many of which are regarded as weeds, 
would be mare suitable for the purpose. 

The Water Spear Grass, or Reed Meadow Grass 
( Glyceria aqiiatica), grows in wet soils and the shallow 
water of marshes. It is a tall, reedy grass, four or five 
feet high, with a panicle nearly a foot long, difi"use, with 
smooth, flexuous branches. Shown in Fig. 43. From 
its lai-ge size and broad leaves it can hardly be mistaken 
for any of the other species of this genus, or of any of 
the genus Poa, to which it is referred by Linnjeus and 
others. Its root is perennial, creeping ; stem erect, 
stout, smooth ; joints seven, smooth ; spikelets numer- 
ous. Florets not webbed. Flowers in August. 

This grass has been cultivated to some extent in 
England and France for its large yield of coarse hay ; 
and, if cut while green and before attaining its full 
growth, it is said to make a nutritious and palatable 
fodder, cattle being fond of it. Its spikelet is seen 
magnified in Fig. 44. 

It is worthy of trial on wet meadows, as it would 
certainly be more valuable than the coarse sedges often 
found there. It is common North and West. 

The Floating Meadow Grass, or Common Manna 

Grass {Glyceria Jluitans), differs from the other species 
of this genus in the general appearance of its slender 



76 



FLOATING MEADOW GRASS. 



panicle, and long, linear spikelets. It grows from fifteen 
inches to two feet high, with a perennial, creeping root, 
erect, round, smooth stem, leaves large, rather long, 

roughish on both sides, lower 
ones flat, upper ones generally 
folded; spikelets few, long and 
linear, as shown in Fig. 45, 
which represents the plant 
near the time of flowering. 
Fig. 46 shows a magnified 
spikelet of this grass. Flow- 
ers late in June, 

It grows naturally in very- 
moist and muddy places, in 
ditches, on the margins of 
ponds and streams, and is very 
common, especiall y northward 
and westward. It is capable 
of cultivation as a perma- 
nent moist pasture grass, and 
its yield compares well with 
many of the other grass- 
es. Its seeds are greed- 
ily sought by birds, and 
in some parts of Ger- 
many are said to be used 
as a delicacy in soups 
and gruels. It has some- 
times been cultivated in 
France and other parts 
of Europe, along alluvial 
borders of streams and 
lakes, and is found to 
produce a sweet and 
nutritious grass. The 




Floating Meadow Grass 



Fig. i6. 



GOOSE GRASS. 



77 



seed has sometimes been ground into meal, or flour. It 
would doubtless be valuable to sow for green manuring. 
Pointed Spear Grass {Glyceria acutijiora) is less 
common than the preceding species. It is found in wet 
places from New England to Pennsylvania, resembling 
the floating manna grass, but with small- 
er leaves, and flowers twice the length, 
and less nerved. 

Goose Grass, Creeping Sea Meadow 
Grass, Sea Spear Grass ( Glyceria mari- 
tima), Fig. 47, is a beautiful grass, Avhich 
appears in and around salt marshes, 
growing from six to twelve inches high, 
and having a perennial, creeping root. 
Stem erect, round, smooth; leaves most- 
ly folded and compressed, roughish on 
the inner surface ; spikelets linear, with 
from six to ten florets, not webbed, the 
outer palea or lower floret terminating 
in an acute point. The flower is seen 
in Fig. 48. Flowers in July. Grows nat- 
urally near the sea. This is one of the 
most valuable of the salt-marsh grasses, 
being exceedingly relished by stock of 
m r/j all kinds. It is generally 
considered best when it 
;::^ grows in mixture with 
-^^0 other species of plants, 
as the black grass {Jun- 
cusbulbosus), for instance, 
and deserves a passing 
notice. 

It is very well known 
that large tracts of salt 

Fig. 48. 

7* 




Fig. 47. Goose Grass. 



78 GROWTH AND VALUE OF GOOSE GRASS. 

marsh are nearly barren. Sometimes close cutting in the 
early morning, while the dew is on the grass and when it 
cuts comparatively easy, kills it out, and from that cause 
the marsh becomes barren. More often, however, excess 
of water, either upon the surface or in the soil, from the 
proximity of ponds which have no outlet, causes barren- 
ness. On all such tracts goose grass springs up and dots 
the whole surface with circular patches of green, which 
in shape are very like ringworms on the human skin. 

This valuable grass is seldom found alone except on 
these barren tracts, and upon them it grows so short 
and thin as seldom to be worth cutting. One will there- 
fore never see an}'' goose-grass hay except mixed with 
other kinds, and generally with black grass. 

When these tracts begin to improve, from draining or 
from any other cause, other grasses make their appear- 
ance, and the goose grass grows much more vigorous, 
and becomes valuable. This will continue to be the 
case for several years, until the roots of the other 
grasses have taken entire possession of the soil, when 
the goose grass disappears almost entirely, and bides its 
time, ready to appear again whenever from any cause 
its intrusive competitors cease to exist. 

The hay made from the mixture of goose, and other 
grasses — among which black grass generally predomi- 
nates — is a most valuable fodder. The goose grass is 
so weighty that it takes but a small quantity, compara- 
tively, for a ton, and cattle eat it with almost as much 
avidity as oats, or any other grain. In fact, no hay is 
more valuable than black grass with a large admixture 
of goose grass, when properly cured. This is the result 
of the experience of practical farmers along the coast. 

The curing process requires care and time; for goose 
grass is as full of juice as possible, and requires a much 
longer exposure than black grass, while a very little 



TREATMENT OF SALT MARSHES. 78 

wet, when it is partially cured, materially injures the 
black grass. 

We may judge of the properties of goose grass from 
the fact that in several instances within my own knowl- 
edge cattle have died of hoove from eating it early in 
the spring, as is not unfrequently the case with clover. 

It resembles in the shape of its leaves, and somewhat 
in its cluster-like growth, that species of garlic which 
used formerly to be grown in kitchen gardens, called 
cives, or more properly chives. Its seed-stalks and seeds 
are almost precisely like the spikelets and seeds of the 
common plantain. 

It grows both on high and low marshes, but is very 
seldom worth cutting on those tracts where it grows 
by itself, and without the admixture of other grasses. 

It is proper to state, in this connection, that experi- 
ments have been made to introduce this valuable grass 
into our fresh wet meadows, and with good success. 

Most of the superior salt-marsh grasses are greatly 
improved by ditching, while the poorer and compara- 
tively worthless plants found there very soon die out 
after this operation, and give place to more valuable 
species. It may be safely asserted that, on an average, 
the value of the marsh is nearly doubled by it, while 
the vegetable, peaty matter taken from it is sufficient, 
if properly used, to pay a considerable portion of the 
outlay. 

Clustered Spear or Reflexed Meadow Grass ( Gly- 
ceria distans) is found also in salt marshes along the 
coast. It appears to be closely allied to goose grass. 
Stems ascending, destitute of running shoots ; branches 
of the panicle three to five in a half whorl, and spread- 
ing. Leaves flat. It is of less value than the pre- 
ceding species. 



SQt THE SPEAR GRASSES. 

32. Brizopyrum. SpiJce Grass. 

Large flowers and spikelets, compressed and crowded 
in a dense spiked panicle. Leaves crowded on the 
stems, folded, and mostly rigid. 

Spike Grass (Brizopyrum spicatum) is a salt-marsh 
grass, with culms or stems in tufts from creeping root- 
stalks, from ten to eighteen inches high. Flowers in 
August. 

33. Poa. Spear Grasses. 

Spikelets ovate, compressed, flowers two to ten in 
an open panicle ; glumes shorter than the flowers ; 
lower palea compressed, keeled, pointless, five-nerved ; 
stamens two or three, seed oblong, free ; stems tufted j 
leaves smooth, flat, and soft. 

Annual Spear Grass {Poa annua), Fig. 1, is, per- 
haps, the most common of all our grasses. Its stems 
are spreading, flattened, panicle often one-sided, spike- 
lets crowded, three to seven flowered; lower palea more 
or less hairy on the nerves below ; leaves of a light 
green, sword-shaped, flat, often crumpled at the margins, 
as appears in the figure, smooth on both surfaces, rough 
at the edges. Florets not ivebbed, and this distinguishes 
it from the June grass {Foa pratensis) and its varieties. 
The outer or lower palea of this grass has no hairs on 
the lateral ribs, as the poa pratensis has. This modest 
and beautiful grass flowers throughout the whole sum- 
mer, and forms a very large part of the sward of New 
England pastures, producing an early and sweet feed, 
exceedingly relished by cattle. It does not resist the 
drought very well, but becomes parched up. 

The Wavy Meadow Grass (Foa laxa) occurs rarely, 
on high and rocky hills in New England, New York, 
and northern latitudes. Of no agricultural value. 



FOWL MEADOW GRASS. 81 

Short-leaved Spear Grass {Poa hrevifolia) is found 
in rocky and hilly woodlands of the Middle and South- 
ern States. The upper leaves very short, the root- 
leaves long, nearly equalling the stem. 

Southern Spear Grass {Poa fiexuosa) is found in 
the dry woods of Virginia, Kentucky, and other South- 
ern States. Panicle very diffuse, leaves taper pointed ; 
lower palea prominently nerved ; stem slender. Of no 
agricultural value. 

Wood Spear Grass {Poa alsodes) is found in woods 
and hill-sides from New England to Wisconsin. Leaves 
narrow, acute, the upper often sheathing the base of 
the panicle, the hairy branches of which are generally 
in threes and fours. 

Weak Meadow Grass {Poa debilis), another species 
in rocky woodlands, from New England to Wisconsin. 
Flowers in May. Panicle small, its branches slender, in 
pairs and threes. Stem weak. 

Sylvan Spear Grass {Poa sylvestris) has an erect 
flat stem, a short pyramidal panicle, with branches, in 
fives or more. Found in rocky woods and meadows in 
Ohio, Wisconsin, and the South. 

Fowl Meadow, False Redtop {Poa serotina).—Yig. 49. 
Spikelets two to four, sometimes five flowered ; ligules 
oval, spear-shaped ; flowers green, often tinged with 
purple ; roots slightly creeping ; wet meadows and 
banks of streams, very common. Flowers in July and 
August. In long-continued moist weather the lower 
joints send up flowering stems. The panicle is erect 
and spreading when in flower, but more contracted and 
drooping when ripe. Indigenous to many parts of this 
country, and also a native of Europe. Its spikelet is 
seen magnified in Fig. 50 ; its flower, in Fig. 51 ; its 
germ, in Fig. 52, and its seed in Fig. 53. 



82 FOWL MEADOW. 




Fig. 52. Fig. 53. 



Fig. 49. Fowl Meadow. 



GROWTH OF FOWL MEADOW. 83 

It early commended itself to the attention of farm- 
ers, for Jared Eliot, writing in 1749, says of it : '' There 
are two sorts of grass which are natives of the country, 
which I would recommend, — these are Herd's grass 
(known in Pennsylvania by the name of Timothy 
grass), the other is Fowl Meadow, sometimes called 
Duck grass, and sometimes Swamp-wire grass. It is 
said that Herd's grass was first found in a swamp in 
Piscataqua, by one Herd, who propagated the same ; 
that fowl meadow grass was brought into a poor piece 
of meadow in Dedham, by ducks and other Avild water- 
fowl, and therefore called by such an odd name. It is 
supposed to be brought into the meadows at Hartford 
by the annual floods, and called there Swamp-wire grass. 
Of these two sorts of natural grass, the fowl grass is 
much the best ; it grows tall and thick, makes a more 
soft and pliable hay than Herd's grass, and consequently 
will be more fit for pressing, in order to ship off with 
our horses ; besides, it is a good grass, not in abun- 
dance inferior to English grass. It yields a good burden, 
three loads to the acre. It must be sowed in low, moist 
land. This grass has another good quality, which ren- 
ders it very valuable in a country where help is so 
much wanting ; it will not spoil or suffer, although it 
stand beyond the common times for mowing. Clover 
will be lost, in a great measure, if it be not cut in the 
proper season. Spear grass, commonly called English 
grass, if it stands too long, will be little better than rye 
straw ; if this outstand the time, it is best to let it stand 
till there comes up a second growth, and then it will do 
tolerably well; but this fowl grass may be mowed any 
time from July to October. * * * This I wondered 
at, but, viewing some of it attentively, I think I have 
found the reason of it. When it is grown about three 
feet high, it then falls down, but doth not rot like other 



84: WOOD MEADOW GEASS. 

grass when lodged ; in a little time after it is thus fallen 
down, at every joint it puts forth a new branch. Now, to 
maintain this young brood of suckers there must be a 
plentiful course of sap conveyed up through the main 
stem or straw ; by this means the grass is kept green 
and fit for mowing all this long period." 

It grows abundantly in almost every part of New 
England, especially where it has been introduced and 
cultivated in suitable ground, such as the borders of 
rivers and intervals occasionally overflowed. It will 
not endure to be long covered with water, especially in 
warm weather. It is well to let a piece go to seed, 
save the seed, and scatter it over low lands. It makes 
an excellent grass for oxen, cows, and sheep, but is 
thought to be rather fine for horses. It never grows 
so coarse or hard but that the stalk is sweet and tender, 
and eaten without waste. It is easily made into hay, 
and is a nutritive and valuable grass. Owing to its 
constantly sending forth flowering stems, the grass of 
the lattermath contains more nutritive matter than the 
first crop at the time of flowering ; hence the names 
fertilis and serotina, fertile and late flowering meadow 
grass. It thrives best when mixed with other grasses, 
and deserves a place in all mixtures for rich, moist 
pastures. 

Wood Meadow Grass (Poa nemoralis) grows from 
eighteen inches to two feet high ; has a perennial, 
creeping root, an erect stem, slender and smooth ; the 
upper sheath no longer than its leaf, with a very short 
ligule, the base of the floret having a silky web sus- 
pending the calyx ; leaves light-green. Fig. 54. It is 
common in moist, shady places, and appears as a tall, 
rank grass, with a long, finely-arched panicle. It 
flowers in June, and ripens its seed in July. A magni- 
fied flower is seen in Fig. 55. 



lOUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS. 



85 



Thoug-li it has never, 
to my knowledge, been 
cultivated in this country, 
it appears to me worthy 
of attention for moist soils. 
It is certainly to be classed 
among the good-shaded 
pasture grasses, furnish- 
ing a fine, succulent, and 
very nutritive herbage, 
which cattle are very fond 

of. 

The Eough-stalked 
Meadow Grass {Poa tri- 
vialis), though not so 
common as the June 
grass {Poa pratensis), is 
still often met with, and 
is found to have webbed 
florets; outer palea five- 
ribbed, marginal ribs not 
hairy, hgule long and 
pointed, stems two to 
three feet high. Dis- 
tinguished from June 
grassbyhavingrough 
sheaths, while in the 
latter the sheaths 
are smooth, the ligule 
obtuse, and the mar- 
ginal ribs of outer 
palea furnished with 
rig. 54. Wood Meadow Grass. Tig. 55. hairs. It differs from 
June grass also in several other respects. The rough- 
stalked meadow grass has a fibrous root, that of the 
8 




86 



ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS, 



June grass is creeping. It flourishes in moist meadows, 
where it flowers in July. Introduced. 




Fig. 58. Bough-stalked Meadow Grass. Fig. 67. 



KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS. 87 

This grass is seen in Fig. 56, while Fig. 57 represents 
a flower somewhat magnified. 

It is a valuable grass to cultivate in moist, sheltered 
soils, possessing very considerable nutritive qualities, 
coming to perfection at a desirable time, and being ex- 
ceedingly relished by cattle, horses, and sheep. For 
suitable soils it should form a portion of seed sown, 
producing, in mixture with other grasses, which serve 
to shelter it, a large yield of hay, above the average of 
grass usually grown on a similar soil. Seven pounds 
of seed to the acre will produce a good sward. The 
grass is said to lose about seventy per cent, of its 
weight in drying. Its hay contains about one and sixty 
hundredths per cent, of azote, and the nutritive quali- 
ties of the lattermath are said to exceed very consider- 
ably those of the crop cut in the flower or in the seed. 

Green Meadow Grass, June Grass, Common Spear 
Grass, Kentucky Blue Grass, &c. {Foa pratensis). — 
Lower florets connected at the base by a web of long, 
silky filaments, holding the calyx ; outer palea five- 
ribbed, marginal ribs hairy ; upper sheath longer than 
its leaf ; height from ten to fifteen inches ; root peren- 
nial, creeping ; stem erect, smooth and round ; leaves 
linear, flat, acute, roughish on the edges and inner sur- 
face ; panicle diffuse, spreading, erect. The plant is of 
a light-green color, the spikelets frequently variegated 
with brownish purple. Introduced, and probably indig- 
enous to some parts of the country. Flowers in June. 
Fig. 58 represents this grass, and Fig. 59 a flower mag- 
nified. 

This is an early grass, very common in the soils of 
New England and the West, in pastures and fields, con- 
stituting a considerable portion of the turf. It varies 
very much in size and appearance, according to the soil 
on which it grows. In Kentucky it is universally 



COMMON SPEAE GRASS. 



known as Blue Grass, and elsewhere frequently as Ken- 
tucky Blue Grass, and still more frequently, in the 




Fig. 59. 



8* 



Fig. 58. June Grass. 



GROWTH OF JUNE GRASS. 89 

Eastern States, as June Grass. It has been called by 
some, without much reason, the most valuable of all the 
grasses in our pastures. It comes into the soil in some 
parts of the country when left to itself, and grows lux- 
uriantly and is relished by cattle. Its creeping root is 
said by some to impoverish the soil. Wherever it is 
intended for hay it is cut at the time of flowering, as, if 
the seed is allowed to ripen, more than a fourth part of 
the crop, according to some, is lost. In its earliness it 
is equalled by some of the other grasses, and in its 
nutritive constituents it is surpassed, according to the 
recent and reliable investigations of Prof Way, by 
several other species. After being cut in summer it 
starts up slowly. Low says, " It is inferior to the 
rough-stalked meadow grass, and it may be questioned 
whether it deserves to be reckoned among the superior 
pasture grasses." 

It produces but one flowering stem in a year, while 
many of the other grasses continue to shoot up flower- 
stalks and run to seed through the season. On this 
account it is recommended highly for lawns, where uni- 
formity is desired. The produce ordinarily is small, 
compared with other grasses, but the herbage is fine. 
It grows well in rather a dry soil, but will grow on a 
variety of soils, from the dryest knolls to a wet 
meadow, but does not withstand our severe droughts 
as well as some other grasses. Its reputation is higher 
in this country than in England, where it is denied, by 
many farmers, even a place among the grasses to be 
recommended for cultivation. It endures the frosts of 
winter better than many other grasses ; and in Ken- 
tucky, where it attains the highest perfection as a pas- 
ture grass, it sometimes continues luxuriant through 
their mild winters. 

June grass requires at least two or three years to 
8* 



90 PRACTICAL OPINIONS. 

become well set, and it does not arrive at its perfection 
as a pasture grass till the sward is older than that ; and 
hence it is not suited to alternate husbandry, or where 
the land is to remain in grass only two or three years, 
and then be ploughed up. 

In Kentucky, the best blue grass is found in partially 
shaded pastures. A well-known farmer of that state, 
in a communication to the Oldo Farmer, says : " In 
our climate and soil, it is not only the most beautiful 
of grasses, but the most valuable of crops. It is the 
first deciduous plant which puts forth its leaves here ; 
ripens its seed about the tenth of June, and then 
remains green, if the summer is favorable in moisture, 
during the summer months, growing slowly till about 
the last of August, when it takes a second vigorous 
growth, until the ground is frozen by winter's cold. 
If the summer is dry, it dries up utterly, and will burn 
if set on fire ; but even then, if the spring growth has 
been left upon the ground, is very nutritious to all 
grazing stock, and especially to sheep and cattle, and 
all ruminating animals. When left to have all its fall 
growth, it makes fine winter pasture for all kinds of 
grazing animals. Cattle will not seek it through the 
snow, but sheep, mules, and horses, will paw off the 
snow and get plenty without any other food. When 
covered with snow, cattle require some other feeding ; 
otherwise they do well all winter upon it. 

" It makes also the best of hay. I have used it for 
that for twenty years. It should be cut just as the 
seeds hegin to ripen, be well spread, and protected 
from the dew at night by windrowing or cocking ; the 
second evening stacked, with salt, or sheltered with 
salt also. When properly cured, stock seem greatly to 
prefer it to all other hay. I would not recommend it 
for meadow, especially, however, because the yield is 



WINTER PASTURES. 91 

hardly equal to Timothy and clover, and because it is 
more difficult to cut and cure." 

The same Avriter says : " Any time in the winter, 
when the snow is on the ground, sow broadcast from 
three to four quarts of clean seed to the acre. With 
the spring the seeds germinate, and are very fine in the 
sprouts, and delicate. No stock should be allowed for 
the first year, nor until the grass seeds in June, for the 
first time in the second year. The best plan is to turn 
on your stock when the seed ripens in June. Graze 
off the grass, then allow the fall growth and graze all 
winter, taking care never to feed the grass closely at 
any time." 

Another eminent cattle breeder, speaking of this 
grass, says, " Whoever has limestone land has blue 
grass ; whoever has blue grass has the basis of all 
agricultural prosperity ; and that man, if he have not 
the finest horses, cattle, and sheep, has no one to blame 
but himself. Others, in other circumstances, may do 
well. He can hardly avoid doing well, if he will try." 

By reference to a table on a subsequent page, contain- 
ing the results of the recent investigations of Prof. 
Way, the distinguished chemist of the Royal Agricultural 
Society of England, will be seen the relative value of 
thi"s grass when green, as compared with Timothy, for 
instance, as shown in the nutritive and flesh-forming, 
and especially in the fat-forming principles, which con- 
tribute so largely to the development and support of 
the whole animal system. The reader is referred to that 
table, and to another following it, containing analyses 
of these plants when dried and freed from water, and to 
the explanatory remarks on the nutritive principles of 
plants, which precede those tables. 

Blue Grass, or Wire Grass {Poa compressa). — 
Stems ascending, flattened, the uppermost joint near 



92 BLUE GRASS. 

the middle ; leaves short, bluish-green ; panicle dense 
and contracted, expanding more at flowering ; short 
branches often in pairs, covered with four to nine 
flowered, flat spikelets ; flowers rather obtuse, linear, 
hairy below on the keel ; ligule short and blunt ; height 
about a foot. It is very common on dry, sandy, thin 
soils and banks, so hardy as to grow on the thin, hard 
soils covering the surface of rocks, along trodden walks, 
or gravelly knolls. 

Blue grass shoots its leaves early, but the amount of 
its foliage is not large ; otherwise it would be one of our 
most valuable grasses, since it possesses a large per 
cent, of nutritive matter. Flowers in July. Most 
grazing animals eat it greedily ; cows feeding on it pro- 
duce a very rich milk and fine-flavored butter, and it is 
especially relished by sheep. Its bluish-green stems 
retain their color after the seed is ripe. It shrinks less 
in drying than most other grasses, and consequently 
makes a hay very heavy in proportion to its bulk. It 
is an exceedingly valuable pasture grass on dry, rocky 
knolls, and should form a portion of a mixture for such 
soils. This should not be confounded with Kentucky 
blue grass, alluded to above. 

34. Eragrostis. 

Spikelets two to seventy flowered ; lower pale three- 
nerved, not hairy at the base, like Poa^ the upper 
remaining on the entire rachis after the rest of the 
flowers have fallen ofi". Stems often branching. 

Creeping Meadow Grass {Eragrostis reptans), Fig, 60, 
is often found on the gravelly banks of rivers, from New 
England to the Western States. It grows from six to 
fifteen inches high, is annual, and flowers in August. 
It is a delicate and beautiful grass, with short, nearly 
awl-shaped leaves, smooth, long spikelets, loose sheaths, 



CREEPING MEADOW GRASS. 



93 



slightly hairy on the margin ; panicles from one to two 
inches long. Its panicle and creeping root-stalk are 
seen in Fig. 60. Its spikelets magnified, in Fig. 61. A 
palea in Fig. 62, its stamens in Fig. 63, and a seed in 
Fig. 64, while a magnified surface of a rootlet is shown 
in Fig. 65. 




Fig. 64. 



Fig. 60. Creeping Meadow Qrass. 

The Strong-scented Meadow Grass {Eragrostis po- 
ceoides) is sometimes found in sand}^ fields, roadsides, 
cultivated grounds, and waste places. Its leaves are 
flat and smooth ; lower sheaths hair}^, spikelets contain- 
ing from ten to twenty florets, of a lead-color. It 
flowers in August and September. 

The Pungent Meadow Grass. — A variety of the last 
(Eragrostis poceoides, var. megastachya) is found more 
frequently on similar situations ; flowering about the 
same time ; emitting, when fresh, a sharp and disagree- 
able odor, by which it may be known. 

The Slender Meadow Grass (Eragrostis pilosa) is 
found with a large, loose, pyramidal panicle ; spikelets 
from five to twelve flowered, of a purplish lead-color ; 



94 MEADOW COMB GRASS. 

glumes and lower pale obtuse ; on sandy and gravelly 
waste places, from New England to Illinois, and south- 
ward. It is from six to twelve inches high. 

Short-stalked Meadow (Eragi^ostis Frankii), a grass 
found in low sandy ground in Ohio, Illinois, and south- 
westward ; has a dense spreading panicle ; spikelets 
from two to five flowered, on slender pedicels ; glumes 
acute ; lower pale egg-shaped, acute. Grows from three 
to eight inches high. 

Southern Eragrostis {Eragrostis Purshii) grows 
with a lengthened panicle, widely spreading, and very 
loose ; on sandy and sterile lands, from New Jersey to 
Virginia, and southward. Spikelets shorter than their 
hairy pedicels ; glumes and lower pale acute. Flowers 
in August. 

Branching Spear Grass [Eragrostis tenuis) is 
another species, found from Illinois to Virginia, and at 
the South, on soils similar to the last, with a panicle 
from one to two feet long, and very loose. Glumes 
awl-shaped, very acute ; lower pale three-nerved ; leaves 
from one to two feet long. Flowers from August to 
October. 

Hair-panicled Meadow Grass {Eragrostis copillaris), 
with its expanding, loose, and delicate panicle, from one 
to two feet long, is found in sandy, waste places, and 
very common southward. Spikelets small, two to four 
flowered, and greenish or purplish; leaves and sheaths 
hairy. Flowers in August and September. 

Meadow Comb Grass (Erar/rostis pedinacea) is found 
also from New England southward, near the coast, and 
from Michigan and Illinois southward. Panicle widely 
difi"use ; spikelets flat, five to fifteen flowered, purple ; 
glumes and flowers acutish; lower pale three-nerved; 
leaves rigid, long, and hairy. 



QUAKING GRASS. 



95 



A variety of this species, the Ei-agrostis sjoeciahilis, is 
found also on similar soils and situations. 




Fig. 66. Quaking Grass. 



Fig. 67. 



96 THE FESCUE GRASSES. 

35. Briza. Quaking Grass. 

Glumes roundish, unequal, of a purple color. Spike- 
lets many-flowered, heart-shaped ; lower pale roundish 
and entire ; upper smaller, egg-shaped, flat ; leaves flat, 
stamens three. 

Quaking Grass {Briza media) is sometimes met with 
in the pastures of Massachusetts and in Pennsylvania. 
Panicle erect, with very slender, spreading branches, 
and large, purplish, tremulous spikelets, from five to 
nine flowered ; inner glume finely fringed, entire at the 
end. It is shown in Fig. QQ. In Fig. 67 is shown a 
magnified spikelet. 

It is a very beautiful, light, slender grass, about a 
foot high, perennial. Flowering in June and July. 
There is an annual, the Large Quaking Grass {Briza 
maxima), with large, many-flowered spikes, cultivated 
in gardens for ornament, and gathered for vases as an 
interesting curiosity. 

36. Festuca. Fescue Grasses. 

The characters of this genus are oblong spikelets, 
somewhat compressed, from three to many flowered ; 
two very unequal glumes, pointed ; paleas roundish on 
the back ; from three to five nerved ; awn pointed or 
bristle-shaped ; stamens three ; flowers harsh, often 
purplish ; panicle nearly erect ; leaves narrow, rigid, of 
a grayish green. 

Small Fescue Grass {Festuca tenella). — The small 
fescue has a spike-like panicle, somewhat one-sided, 
from seven to nine flowered ; awn of the awl-shaped 
palea slender ; leaves bristle-formed ; stem slender, six 
to twelve inches high. It flourishes on dry and sterile 
soils, and is common from New England to Illinois and 
Wisconsin. Flowers in July. 



SHEEP'S FESCUE. 



97 



Sheep's Fescue (Festuca ovina), Fig. 68, is known 
by its narrow panicle ; short, tufted, bristle-shaped 
leaves, of a grayish color, some- 
what tinged with red ; its spike- 
lets two to six flowered ; awn 
often nearly wanting. Its flower 
is shown magnified in Fig. 69. 

It grows from six to ten 
inches high, in dense, perennial- 
rooted tufts, forming an excel- 
lent pasturage for sheep. It 
flowers in June and July, in 
the dry pastures of New Eng- 
land, westward to Lake Supe- 
rior, and northward. 

Hard Fescue Grass {Festuca 
duriuscula) is also found to 
some extent, though not so 
commonly as the small fescue. 
It is by some regarded as a 
variety of the sheep's fescne, 
taller, and with a panicle more 
open, leaves flat, and spikelets 
four to eight flowered. It grows 
from one to two feet high. 
Flowers in June, in pastures 
and waste grounds. 

The Eed Fes- 
cue {Festuca riir 
bra), by some re- 
garded as only a 
variety of the 
preceding, is one 

Fig. 68. Sheep's Fescue. Fig. 69. of tllO largCSt of 

9 





98 



RED FESCUE GRASS. 



the varieties of fescue. Its leaves are broadish, flat ; 
root extensively creeping, and throwing out lateral 




Fig. 70. Red Fescue. 



Fig. tl. Fig. 72. Meadow Fescue. 



MEADOW FESCUE. 99 

shoots. Found in dry pastures near the sea-shore, in 
sandy soils. It is a grass of better quality than some 
of the other species, but is never cultivated in this 
country as an agricultural product. The color of its 
leaves is somewhat more grayish than the preceding, 
and often tinged with red. It is shown in Fig. 70, 
while its spikelet is seen magnified in Fig. 71. 

Meadow Fescue {Festuca pratensis) is one of the 
most common of the fescue grasses. Shown in Fig. 72. 
It is said to be the Randall grass of Virginia. Its pan- 
icle is nearly erect, branched, close, somewhat inclined 
to one side ; spikelets linear, with from five to ten cyl- 
indrical flowers, — a spikelet is shown magnified in Fig. 
73; — leaves linear, of a glossy green, pointed, striated, 
rough on the edges ; stems round, smooth, from two to 
three feet high ; roots creeping ; perennial. Its radical 
or root leaves are broader than those of the stem, 
while in most other species of fescue the radical leaf 
is generally narrower than those of the stem. Flowers 
in June and July, in moist pastures and near farm- 
houses. 

This is an excellent pasture grass, forming a very 
considerable portion of the turf of old pastures and 
fields, and is more extensively propagated and difiused 
by the fact that it ripens its seed before most other 
grasses are cut, and sheds them to spring up and cover 
the ground. Its long and tender leaves are much rel- 
ished by cattle. It is never or rarely sown in this 
country, notwithstanding its great and acknowledged 
value as a pasture grass. If sown at all, it should be 
in mixture with other grasses, as orchard grass, rj^e 
grass, or common spear grass. According to Sinclair, 
it is of greater value at the time of flowering than when 
the seed is ripe. It is said to lose a little over fifty per 
cent, of its weight in drying for bay. 



100 



TALL FESCUE. 



In addition to its qualities as a pasture grass, it is 
said to make a very good quality of hay, much relished 
g^ by cattle. The Randall grass 
is highly spoken of for fall 
and winter pastures in the 
climate of Virginia, and, as it 
often remains green under 
the snow through the winter, 
it is not unfrequently called 
" Evergreen grass." 

The Tall Fescue Geass 
[Festuca elatior) is also found 
pretty commonly in moist 
meadows and around farm- 
houses. Its panicle is con- 
tracted, erect, or somewhat 
drooping, with shortbranches, 
spreading in all directions ; 
spikelets crowded, with fiveto 
ten flowers, rather remote, ob- 
long, lanceolate ; leaves flat- 
tish, linear, acute ; stems two 
to four feet high; root perenni- 
al, fibrous, somewhat creeping, 
and forming large tufts. Fig. 
\^ 74 shows this plant 
at the time of flower- 
ing, and Fig. 75 a 
magnified spikelet of 
the same. Flowers in 
June and July. Intro- 
duced from Europe. 
It is a nutritive 
Fig. 74. Tall Fescue Grass. Fig. 75. and productive grass, 





SLENDER SPIKED FESCUE. 



101 



growing naturally in shady woods, and moist, stiff soils. 
Cattle are very fond of it. Said by some to be iden- 
tical with the meadow fescue. 

The Slender Spiked Fes- 
cue {Festuca loliacea), Fig. 
76, is a species nearly allied 
to the tall fescue, and pos- 
sesses much the same qual- 
ities. It grows naturally 
in moist, rich meadows, 
forming a good, permanent 
pasture grass ; but it is met 
with only very rarely among 
American grasses, and is of 
little value for cultivation. 
Fig. 77 shows a magnified 
flower of it. 

The Nodding Fescue 
(Festuca nutans) is also 
rarely met with in rocky 
woods. Panicle diffuse, 
composed of several long, 
slender branches, generally 
in pairs, nodding Avhen ripe. 
Flowers close together ; 
leaves dark green, often 
hairy ; stem two to four feet 
high. From 

^ W ^^ ^^^ England 
1\% Iv^i to Wisconsin 
and Minneso- 
ta, and thence 
northward and 
westward. 

Fig. 76. Slender Spiked Fescue. Fig. 77. 

9* 





102 THE BROME GRASSES. 

37. Bromus. Brome Grasses. 

Spikelets from five to many flowered, panicled; 
glumes not quite equal, shorter than the flowers, mostly 
keeled, the lower one to five, the upper three to 
nine nerved ; palece herbaceous, lower one convex on 
the back, or compressed, keeled, five to nine nerved ; 
awned or bristle-pointed from below the tip ; upper 
palea at length adhering to the groove of the oblong 
grain ; fringed on the keel ; stamens three ; styles at- 
tached below the apex of the ovary. The grasses of 
this genus are coarse, with large spikelets, somewhat 
drooping generally when ripe. 

Chess, Cheat, Willard's Bromus {Bromus secalinus), 
has a spreading panicle, slightly drooping; spikelets 
ovate, smooth, of a yellowish-green tinge, showing the 
rachis when in seed, and holding from six to ten rather 
distinct flowers. In the spikelet exhibited in Fig. 80 
seven can be distinctly counted; the eighth or ninth, 
imperfectly developed, can often be found. Stems erect, 
smooth, round, from two to three feet high, bearing 
four or five leaves with striated sheaths ; the upper 
sheath crowned with an obtuse, ragged ligule; the lower 
sheaths soft and hairy, the hairs pointing downwards ; 
joints five, slightly hairy ; leaves flat, soft, linear, more 
downy on the upper than on the under side ; points and 
margin rough to the touch. Summit of the large glume 
midway hettveen its base and the summit of the second 
floret, as seen in Fig. 80 (?>), a constant mark of dis- 
tinction from Bromus racemosus and Bromus mollis. 
Fig. 79 shows the form of this grass a few days before 
coming to maturity, and Fig. 81 a magnified spikelet, 
while Fig. 78 represents the same in a more advanced 
stage. Flowers in June and July. It has no relation 
to Italian rye grass, as has been claimed. 

Distinguished from Bromus arvensis in the spikelets 
having fewer florets, and the outer palea being rounded 



CHESS. 



103 



at the summit, and being broader compared with its 
length. In Br-omus arvensis the outer pale is more conical. 





Fig. 78. Fig. 80. Fig. 81. Fig. 79. 



104 COMMITTEES REPORT UPON CHESS. 

Nothing more clearly illustrates the want of accurate 
knowledge of subjects intimately connected with agri- 
culture, and immediately affecting the farmers' interests, 
than the more recent history of the propagation of 
this worthless pest to our grain-fields. It was, within 
the memory of many farmers who suffered from it, 
heralded in the papers, in connection with the names of 
distinguished friends of agriculture, with the earnest 
hope that it might receive extended trials. Monstrous 
prices were charged and paid by the farmer for its seed, 
in many cases four and five dollars a bushel, a pledge 
being exacted that it should not be allowed to go to 
seed. Committees of agricultural societies were in- 
vited to examine and report upon it ; and in a letter 
now lying before me, the disinterested propagator very 
kindly offers to put up ten barrels of bromus-seed for 
one hundred dollars, saying that " of course the earliest 
applicants will be sure of obtaining till all is gone, 
which would scarcely give a barrel to a state. * * 
Years must elapse before the country can be supplied 
as it now is with Herd's grass and clover seed. My 
offer invites cooperation and participation in the profits 
and pleasures now available " — for taking advantage 
of the honest credulity of the public? 

A quantity of bromus-seed was sent to the State 
Farm of Massachusetts, for the purpose of experiment, 
with a letter with directions to sow with clover, in the 
spring of 1855, The crop was cut while yet green, and 
before the grass had developed sufficiently to distinguish 
it with certainty. The following year directions were 
given to let it stand later in the season. While engaged 
in the collection and study of specimens, in the course 
of the summer of 1856, 1 gathered samples of the grass 
when it was still immature, the spikelets having pre- 
cisely the form indicated in Fig. 79. Without giving it 



AN INTELLIGENT JURY. 105 

a very close examination at the time, I pronounced it 
the Bromus arvensis, which, at that stage of its growth, 
it very much resembles. A few days after, I was aston- 
ished to see it develop into Chess {Bromus secalinus). 
This was the first ripe specimen of Willard's bromus I 
had seen. I examined it with care, and, to avoid the 
possibility of a mistake, I submitted specimens of it to 
Professor Gray, of Cambridge, and to Professor Dewey, 
of Rochester, New York, both of whom, after examina- 
tion, pronounced it genuine chess. 

But Mr. Willard having quoted from the report of a 
committee of an agricultural society, in which it was 
said that if a "jury of cows should confirm the opinion 
of Mr. Willard as to the superiority of the grass, then 
will the agricultural community owe him a debt of grat- 
itude for having introduced to notice here a species of 
grass which is highly beneficial on light, sandy soils, 
much superior to any other species, and producing most 
abundantly on land of better quality," I directed it to 
be submitted to such a jury, which unhesitatingly pro- 
nounced a verdict in accordance with the facts, which 
were as follows : 

The grass which was first submitted for comparison 
with the bromus was the reed canary grass (Phalaris 
arundinacea), a grass of very slight nutritive and pal- 
atable qualities. The upland or English hay used was 
such as commonly goes by that name among farmers, 
made up of Timothy and red top mainly, of fair quality. 
The meadow or swale hay was taken from a wet mead- 
ow, and composed of coarse, swale grasses or sedges, 
such as are common in New England, and pass under 
the term of " meadow hay." The bromus was carefully 
picked out from all other grasses. The two kinds given 
in each trial were put into the same crib, but separated 
by a partition. 



106 COMPARATIVE TRIALS. 

In the first trial, with bromus and reed canary grass, 
there Avas no choice. Both Avere eaten ahke. 

In the second, with bromus and English hay, the 
English hay was preferred. 

In the third, with bromus and swale hay, the swale 
hay was eaten first. 

In the fourth, with bromus and oat straw, the bromus 
was eaten first. 

In the fifth, with reed canary grass and English hay, 
the English hay was preferred. 

In the sixth, with reed canary grass and swale, the 
swale was chosen at once. 

In the seventh, with reed canary grass and oat straw, 
the oat straw was chosen first. 

In the eighth, with reed canary grass and corn-stalks, 
the corn-stalks were eaten first. 

In the ninth, with bromus and corn-stalks, both were 
eaten nearly alike till they were gone. 

In the tenth, with bromus and millet, the cattle chose 
the millet, and did not touch the bromus. 

It is unnecessary to say that " Cheat " is a trouble- 
some weed to the farmer, especially when it appears in 
his grain-fields. It is an early grass, but the quantity 
of herbage, and especially its quality, make it unfit 
for cultivation. Indeed, the onl}^ species of any value, 
or at all fit for cultivation, belonging to this large genus 
of grasses, is the Bromus arvensis, and even that has 
been discarded from modern agriculture. It may be 
valuable to sow with spring grain to turn in green. 

Smooth Brome Grass, or Upright Chess {Bromvis 
racemosus), has a panicle erect, simple, rather narrow, 
contracted when in fruit ; flowers closer than in the 
preceding, lower palea exceeding the upper, bearing an 
awn of its own length ; stem erect, round, more slender 
than in chess ; sheaths slightly hairy. In other respects 



SOFT BROME GRASS. 107 

it is very much like chess, but may always be distin- 
guished from it, as well as from Bromus arvensis, in the 
summit of the large glume being half way between its 
base and the summit of the third floret, on the same side ; 
whereas, in chess the summit of the large glume is half 
way between its base and the summit of the second 
floret. This character is constant, and ofiers the surest 
mark of distinction. It is common in grain-fields. It 
is worthless for cultivation except for green manuring. 

Soft Chess, or Soft Brome Grass (Bromus mollis), 
is sometimes found. I procured beautiful specimens of 
it at Nantucket, where it was growing in the turf with 
other grasses, on a sandy soil near the shore. Its pan- 
icle is erect, closely contracted in fruit; spikelets coni- 
cal, ovate ; stems erect, more or less hairy, with the 
hairs pointing downwards, from twelve to eighteen 
inches high ; joints four or five, slightly hairy ; leaves 
flat, striated, hairy on both sides, rough at the edges 
and points ; summit of the large glume midway between 
its base and the apex of the third floret, b}^ which it is 
always distinguished from Willard's bromus. Flowers 
in June. Birds are fond of the seeds, which are large, 
and ripen early. Of no value for cultivation. 

The Wild Chess (Bromus Tcalmii) is another species, 
found often in dry, open woodlands. It has a small, 
simple panicle, with the spikelets drooping on hairy 
peduncles, seven to twelve flowered, and silky; awn 
only one-third the length of the lance-shaped "flower; 
stem slender, eighteen inches to three feet high ; leaves 
and sheaths hairy. Flowers in June and July. Of no 
value for cultivation. 

Fringed Brome Grass (Bromus. ciliatus) is often 
found in woods and on rocky hills and river banks. It 
has a compound panicle, very loose, nodding ; spikelets 



108 



MEADOW BROME GRASS. 



seven to twelve flowered ; flowers tipped with an awn 

half to three-fourths their length ; stem three to four 

feet high, with large leaves. Flowers 

in July and August. Of no value for 

cultivation. 

The Meadow Brome Grass {Bromus 
pratensis) is a perennial weed in the 
corn-fields of England, and is only 
recommended in any part of Europe 
for dry, arid soils, where nothing bet- 
ter will grow. Fig. 82 represents this 
grass, and Fig. 83 a magnified spikelet. 

Sterile Brome Grass {Bromus ste- 
rilis) is but rarely met with. Panicle 
very loose, the slender branches droop- 
ing; leaves hairy. Flowers 
in July. 

Not one of the brome 
grasses is worthy of a mo- 
ment's attention as a culti- 
vated agricultural grass, and 
the cleaner the farmer keeps 
his fields of them the better. 

38. Uniola. Spike Grass. 

Spikelets flat, two-edged, 
many flowered; glumes com- 
pressed, keeled; palese of 
fertile flowers, two ; the 
lower boat-shaped, the up- 
per doubly keeled. Grain 
free, smooth, enclosed in the 
pales. 

Sptke Grass ( Uniola pa- 
niculala) is a grass found 

Fig. 82. Meadow Brome Grass. Fig. 83. 



COMMON REED GRASS. 109 

on sand-hills along the coast from Virginia southward. 
Leaves narrow when dry ; spikelets egg-shaped ; stems 
from four to eight feet high. Of no value for culti- 
vation. 

Broad-leaved Spike Grass ( JJniola latifolia), another 
species found on rich, shady hill-sides, from Pennsyl- 
vania to Illinois and southward, is known by its loose 
panicle ; stem two to four feet high ; leaves broad and 
flat ; spikelets hanging on long pedicels. Flowers in 
August. 

Slender Spike Grass ( Uniola gracilis) is still another 
species found on sandy soils on the coast from Long 
Island to Virginia, and further south. Stem rises three 
feet high, and slender. 

39. Phragmites. Reed Grass. 

Glumes shorter than the flowers, keeled, sharp-pointed, 
and very unequal ; rachis silky-bearded ; paleBe slender, 
the lower thrice the length of the upper ; styles long, 
grain free. 

The Common Reed Grass {Phragmites communis) is 
a very tall, broad-leaved grass, with the flower in a large 
terminal panicle. It looks at a little distance very much 
like broom-corn; stem five to twelve feet high. 

It grows on the borders of ponds and swamps, and is 
one of the largest grasses in the United States. It oc- 
curs in many localities in Massachusetts, and thence 
west to Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Flowers 
in September. 

40. Arundinaria. Cane. 

Glumes concave, awnless, small, lower smaller than 
the upper ; scales three, longer than the ovary ] sta- 
mens three, stems woody. 
10 



110 CANE. — DAENEL. 

Cane (Arundinaria macrosperma) is a perennial grass, 
with a stem often from thirty to forty feet in height, 
and flowering in March and April. Leaves linear, green 
on both sides, smooth ; spikelets seven to ten flow- 
ered, purple, smooth. In rich soils in southern Illinois, 
Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, and southward. The stems 
are extensively used for fishing-rods. 

41. Lepturus. 

Flowers in spikes ; rachis jointed ; joints with one 
spikelet ; glumes one or two, growing to the rachis, 
simple or two-parted. 

Slender-tail Grass {Lepturus paniculatus) is found 
in Illinois ; an annual, flowering in June. Stem one 
foot high, compressed ; leaves short, rigid ; glumes 
fixed, rigid, unequal, parallel. Rare. 

42. LoLiuM. Darnel. 

Spikelets many-flowered, solitary on each joint of 
the continuous rachis, edgewise ; glume only one, and 
external. 

Perennial Rye Grass {Lolium perenne). — Stem erect, 
smooth, fifteen inches to two feet high ; root perennial, 
fibrous ; joints four or five, smooth, often purplish ; 
leaves dark green, lanceolate, acute, flat, smooth on the 
outer surface, and roughish on the inner ; glume much 
shorter than the spikelet ; flowers six to nine, awnless. 
Flowers in June. Shown in Fig. 84. Fig. 85 represents 
a magnified spikelet of this grass. 

It has had the reputation in Great Britain, for many 
years, of being one of the most important and valuable 
of the cultivated grasses. It is probably much better 
adapted to a wet and uncertain climate than to one 
subject almost annually to droughts, which often con- 



PERENNIAL RYE GRASS. 



Ill 



4. 



tinue many weeks, parching up every green thing. 
There is, perhaps, no grass, the characteristics of which 
vary so much, from the influences 
of soil, climate, and culture, as pe- 
rennial rye grass. Certain it is that 
this grass has been cultivated in 
England since 1677, and in the 
south of France from time imme- 
morial. It is admitted to be infe- 
rior in nutritive value to orchard 
grass {Dactylis glomerata), when 
green. 

Whenever it is cut for hay, it is 
necessary to take it in the blossom, 
or very soon after, since otherwise 
it becomes hard and wiry, and is 
not relished by stock of any kind ; 
and it changes very rapidly after 
blossoming, from a state in which 
it contains the greatest amount of 
water, sugar, &c., and the least 
amount of woody fibre, into the 
state in which it possesses the 
least amount of water, sugar, &c., 
and the greatest amount of woody 
fibre, and other insoluble solid mat- 
ter. A specimen, analyzed about 
,the 20th of June, and found to 
contain 81^ per cent, 
of water, and 18| per 
cent, of solid matter, 
was found, only three 
weeks later, to contain 
only 69 per cent, water, 
and 31 of solid matter. 



r\ 




Fig. 84. Perennial Rye Grass. 



Fig. 85. 



112 



ITALIAN EYE GRASS. 



It is, undoubtedly, a valuable grass, and worthy of 
attention ; but it is not to be compared, tor tiie pur- 
j poses of New England agri- 
yM/ culture, to Timothy, or to 
orchard grass. It produces 
abundance of seed, soon ar- 
rives at maturity, is relished 
by stock, likes a variety of 
soils, all of which it exhausts ; 
lasts six or seven years, and 
then dies out. 

Italian Rye Grass {Lolium 
Itallcum) has been recently in- 
troduced into this country, and 
is now undergoing experiment 
which will assist in determin- 
ing its value for us. It difiers 
from perennial rye grass in the 
florets having long, slender 
awns, and from bearded darnel 
{Lolium temulentum) in the 
glumes being shorter than the 
spikelets. This difference will 
be manifest on reference to 
Fig. 86, and Fig. 
87, which repre- 
sents a magnified 
spikelet. It turfs 
less than the pe- 
rennial rye grass, 
its stems are 
higher, its leaves 

Fig. 86. Italian Rye Grass. Fir. 87. ^.rC larger and 01 

a lighter green ; it gives an early, quick, and successive 
growth, till late in the fall. 





COMPARED WITH TIMOTHY. 113 

To say that it is, or would be, the best grass in onr 
climate and on our soils, would be altogether prema- 
ture ; but it has the credit abroad of being equally 
suited to all the climates of Europe, giving more abun- 
dant crops, of a better quality, and better relished by 
animals, than the perennial rye grass. It is one of the 
greatest gluttons of all the grasses, either cultivated or 
wild, and will endure any amount of forcing by irriga- 
tion or otherwise, while it is said to stand a drought 
remarkably well. 

The soils best adapted to Italian rye grass seem to 
be moist, fertile, and tenacious, or of a medium con- 
sistency ; and on such soils it is said to be one of the 
best grasses known to cut green for soiling, affording 
repeated luxuriant and nutritive crops. I have not 
seen enough of it to speak from personal observation 
or experience of the comparative profit of this grass 
and Timothy for cultivation here ; but its comparative 
nutritive value is well known from the thorough and 
reliable analyses of Professor Way. By these it ap- 
pears that 100 parts of Timothy grass, as taken from 
the field, contain 57.21 per cent, of water, 4.86 per cent, 
of albuminous or flesh-forming principles, 1.50 per cent, 
of fatty matters, 22.85 per cent, of heat-producing prin- 
ciples, such as starch, gum, sugar, &c., 11,32 per cent, 
of woody fibre, and 2.26 of mineral matter or ash; while 
100 parts of Italian rye grass, taken from the same kind 
of soil and in the same condition, green, contained 75.61 
per cent, of water, 2.45 of albuminous or flesh-forming 
principles, .80 of fatty matters, 14.11 of heat-producing 
principles, starch, gum, and sugar, 4.82 of woody fibre, 
and 2.21 of mineral matter or ash. Of these, the flesh- 
forming principles, fatty matters, and heat-producing 
principles, are, of course, by far the most important; 
and in all these our favorite Timothy very far excels 
10* 



114 



BEAEDED DARNEL. 



the Italian rye grass, showing a nutritive value nearly 
double. 

Nor has the Italian rye grass any advantage over 
Timothy in the dried state, though the difference is by 





Fig. 88. Bearded Daxnel. Fig. 90. 



Fig. 89. Many-flowered Darnel. 



COUCH GRASS. 115 

no means so marked ; the former dried at 212* Fahren- 
heit containing 10.10 per cent, of flesh-forming princi- 
ples, the latter 11.36; the former containing 3.27 per 
cent, of fatty matter, the latter 3.55 ; the former con- 
taining 57.82 per cent, of heat-forming principles, the 
latter 53.35. 

There are 432,000 seeds in a pound of Italian rye 
grass, and from thirteen to eighteen pounds in a bushel. 

The Bearded Darnel {LoUum temulentum), Fig. 88, 
is sometimes found in our grain-fields, with its glume 
equalling the five to seven flowered spikelets, and awn 
longer than the flower. Its grain is poisonous — almost 
the only instance known among the grasses. 

The Many-flowered Darnel {LoUum muUiJlorum) is, 
perhaps, the most showy species of rye grass culti- 
vated. It is but very rarely, if ever, met with here, 
though it was introduced from France to England about 
thirty years ago, and is there cultivated to some extent. 
Fig. 89 shows the appearance of this grass, and Fig. 90 
a magnified spikelet. It is very nearly allied to, if not 
identical with, Italian rye grass. 

43. Triticum. Wheat 

Spikelets three to several flowered, compressed, with 
the flat side toward the rachis ; glumes nearly equal 
and opposite, nerved ; lower palea like the glumes, con- 
vex on the back, awned from the tip, upper flattened; 
stamens three ; mostly annuals, but others are peren- 
nials, to which the couch grass belongs. 

Couch Grass, Quitch Grass, Twitch Grass, Dog 
Grass, Chandler Grass, &c. {Triticum repens), seen in 
Fig 91, with its roots creeping extensively ; stem erect, 
round, smooth, from one to two or two and a half feet 
high, striated, having five or six flat leaves, with smooth, 



116 



TWITCH GEASS. 



striated sheaths ; the joints are smooth, the two upper- 
most very remote ; leaves dark green, acute, upper one 

broader than the lower ones, 
roughish, sometimes hairy 
on the inner surface, smooth 
on the lower half. Inflores- 
cence in spikes. A spike- 
let is seen magnified in Fig. 
92. Flowers in June and 
July. Introduced from Eu- 
rope. 

This plant is generally 
regarded by farmers as a 
troublesome weed, and ef- 
forts are made to get rid of 
it. Its long, creeping roots, 
branching in every direc- 
tion, take complete posses- 
sion of the soil, and impov- 
erish it. When green, how- 
ever, it is very much rel- 
ished by cattle, and, if cut 
in the blossom, it makes a 
nutritious hay. Dogs eat 
the leaves of this grass, and 
those of one 
other species, 
for their medi- 
cinal qualities 
in exciting vom- 
iting. 1 have 
seen acres of it 
on the Connecti- 
cut River mead- 
ows, where it 





Fig. 91. Couch Grass. 



Fig. 92. 



THE BARLEY GRASSES. 117 

had taken possession and grew luxuriantly, and was 
called wheat grass, from its resemblance to wheat. It 
goes in diflerent parts of the country by a great variety 
of names, as quake grass, quack grass, squitch grass. It 
is important to destroy it, if possible. 

Bearded Wheat Grass {Triticum caninum) is found 
in woods and on the banks of streams, from New York 
to Wisconsin and northward. It has no creeping root- 
stalks, like couch grass. Spikelets four or five flowered; 
glumes three-nerved, rachis rough and bristly on the 
edges ; awn longer than the smooth flower ; leaves flat 
and roughish. It is perennial, and flowers in August ; 
grows from one to three feet high. It is sometimes 
found in fields. 

A variety of couch grass, the Triticum dasystacliyum, 
is also found in Michigan and Wisconsin. 

Wheat ( Triticum vulgare). — See next chapter. 

Egyptian Wheat ( Triticum compositum) is cultivated 
in gardens as a curiosity. 

44. HoRDEUM. Barley Grasses. 

Spikelets one-flowered, with an awl-shaped rudiment 
on the inner side, three at each joint of the rachis, the 
lateral ones usually abortive or imperfect, short-stalked: 
glumes side by side in front of the spikelets, slender and 
bristle-form; lower pale convex, long-awned; stamens 
three ; grain long, adhering to the pales. 

Squirrel-tail Grass {Hordeum jahatum) is widely 
diffused over our- salt marshes, and the shores of the 
northern lakes, in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, and 
becomes a prairie grass in moist, level places. Stem 
slender, smooth, from one to two feet high, with rather 
short leaves, and low, lateral, abortive, neutral flowers, 
on a short pedicel, short-awned, the perfect flower 



118 THE LYME GRASSES. 

bearing an extremely long awn, about the length of 
the similar hairy glumes, all spreading. It is common 
on moist sands and marshes on the sea-shore, flowering 
in June. 

Barley Grass {Eordeum pusillum) grows from five 
to ten inches high, in saltish soils of Ohio, Illinois, and 
westward. Lateral flowers imperfect, awnless, pointed, 
the perfect flower awned ; glumes rigid;, short-awned. 
Annual. Much relished by cattle. 

Two-ROWED Barley [Hordeum distichum), as well as 
Four and Six rowed Barley {Hordeum vulgare), belong 
to this genus. — See next chapter. 

45. Sec ALE. Bye. 

Spikelets two-flowered, flowers perfect, with the rudi- 
ment of a third terminal flower ; glumes nearly equal, 
nearly opposite, keeled, awnless or awned ; pales herba- 
ceous, lower one awned, keeled, with sides unequal : 
upper shorter, two-keeled ; scales two, entire ; sttimens 
three, ovary hairy ; fruit free, hairy at the summit ; 
spikes simple. 

Rye (Secale cereale), a common cultivated plant, famil- 
iar to every farmer. — See next chapter. 

46. Elymus. Lyme Grasses. 

Spikelets two to four at each joint of the rachis, all 
fertile, each one to seven flowered ; glumes both on 
one side of the spikelet; palese two, lower one usually 
awned, mostly perennial, some species annual. 

Lyme Grass. Wild Rye [Elymus Virghucus), is fre- 
quent along the banks of rivers. It is known by its 
upright spike, dense and thick on a short peduncle, 
usually included in the sheath ; two or three spikelets 
together^two or three flowered, smooth, shortly awned; 



CANADIAN LYME GRASS. 119' 

stamens three ; stems stout, from twt) to three feet high; 
leaves broad and rough. Grows from two to three feet 
high, and flowers in July and August. Of no special 
value as an agricultural grass. Found from New Eng- 
land to Illinois and Wisconsin. 

Canadian Lyme Grass (Elymiis Canadensis). — Spike 
rather loose, and curving at the extremity ; spikelets 
mostly in pairs of three to five, long-awned, rough, 
hairy flowers ; the lance-awl-shaped glumes, tipped with 
shorter awns ; stem three to four feet high, root creep- 
ing; leaves broad, flat, linear; sheaths smooth, and ligule 
short. Flowers in August. It is common on the banks 
of rivers. 

Slender Hairy Lyme Grass {Elymus striatus) is 
sometimes found in rocky woods and on the banks of 
streams, as the most slender and smallest-flowered spe- 
cies of this genus. It flowers in July. Rare, and of 
little value for agricultural purposes. 

Soft Lyme Grass {Elymus mollis) rises three feet 
high, on the shores of the northern lakes, Superior, 
Huron, and in higher latitudes. It has a thick, erect 
spike, with two or three spikelets at each joint, from 
five to eight flowered. 

Upright Sea Lyme Grass {Elymus arenarius). — 
This grass, which much resembles beach grass, grows 
from two to five feet high, with a perennial, long, creep- 
ing root ; stem erect, round, smooth ; leaves long, nar- 
row, hard, grayish, pointed, grooved, rolled in, smooth 
behind and rough on the inner surface. It flowers in 
July. Differs from the common beach grass in having 
a short, obtuse ligule, and spikelets without footstalks, 
of three or four florets, while beach grags has a long 
and pointed ligule, and spikelets with footstalks, and 
of only one floret. 



120 THE HAIR GRASSES. 

Sinclair calls this grass the sugar-cane of Great 
Britain. It contains a large quantity of saccharine 
matter, and it is probable that mixed with beach grass, 
as it is in Holland, it would be valuable to cut up and 
mix with common hay for winter feed. It is used pre- 
cisely as beach grass is here, to prevent the encroach- 
ments of the sea, and to arrest the drifting sand. It 
was introduced by the Patent Office, and cultivated in 
various parts of the country. 

Bottle-brush Grass {Elymus Hystrix) is found rather 
commonly in moist, rocky woodlands, and along shaded 
banks of streams, and may be known by its loose, up- 
right spike and spreading spikelets, smooth sheaths and 
leaves, smoothish flowers tipped with an awn three times 
their length. Flowers in July. It is referred by Gray 
to the genus Gymnostichum, as it differs from other 
species of Elymus, in having no glumes. The differ- 
ence is slight, as the glumes are often more or less 
developed. The spike has the appearance of a bottle- 
brush, when ripe. 

47. AiRA. Hair Grasses. 

Two-flowered spikelets, in an open, diffuse panicle ; 
flowers both perfect, shorter than the glumes, hairy at 
the base ; lower palea three to five nerved, awned on 
the back; grain oblong, smooth. 

Wood Hair Grass, or Common Hair Grass (Aira 
Jlexuosa), is a common grass on our dry and rocky hills 
and roadsides. Stems slender, one to two feet high, 
nearly naked ; leaves dark green, often curved, bristle- 
formed; branches of the panicle hairy, spreading, mostly 
in pairs; lower palea slightly toothed ; awn starting near 
the base, bent in the middle, longer than the glumes, 
which are purplish. Perennial. Flowers in June. This 
plant is sometimes found thirty-five hundred feet above 



TUFTED HAIR GRASS. 



121 



the level of the sea. Sheep eat it readily. Of little 
value for cultivation. Fig. 93 represents it in blossom, 
and Fig. 94 a magnified flower. 

Tufted Hair Grass 
(Aira coaspitosa) also be- 
longs to this genus. 
Stems erect, round, rough- 
ish, in close tufts ; leaves 
flat, linear, acute, with 
roughish striated sheaths, 
upper sheath longer than 
its leaf; panicle pyram- 
idal or oblong, large, at 
first drooping, afterwards 
erect, Avith its branches 
spreading in every direc- 
tion ; awn barely equal- 
ling the palea; outer palea 
of lower floret shorter 
than the glumes ; mem- 
branous, jagged, or four- 
toothed, on the summit, 
hairy at the base, with 
slender awn rising from 
a little above the base, 
and extending scarcely 
above the palea. Dis- 
tinguished from Avood 
hair grass in the awn 
of the lower floret not 
protruding beyond the 
glumes of the calyx. 
In wood hair grass 
the awn of the lower 




Fig. 93. VTood Hair Grass. 
11 



Fig. 94. 



122 



WATER HAIR GRASS. 



floret protrudes more than one-third its length beyond 
the glumes. 

It has an unsightly look in fields and pastures, on 



Fig. 99. 



Fig. 100. 





Fig. 96. WUd Oat Grass. Fig. 97. 



Fig. 95. Water Hair Grass. 



WILD OAT GRASS. 123 

account of its growing in tnfts, clusters, or hassocks. 
Cattle seldom touch it. Natural to stifi" or marshy bot- 
toms, where the water stands. Flowers in June. 

Purple Alpine Hair Grass (Aira atropurjntrea) is 
another species found on the top of the White Moun- 
tains, in New Hampshire, growing from eight to fifteen 
inches high, with flat and rather wide leaves. 

Water Hair Grass [Aira aquatica), Fig. 95. — This 
grass Mr. Curtis calls the sweetest of the British 
grasses, and equal to any foreign one. Its stems and 
leaves, when green, have a sweet and agreeable taste, 
like that of liquorice. Water fowls are said to be very 
fond of the seeds and the fresh green shoots, and cattle 
eat it very readily. It is strictly an aquatic, but can 
be cultivated on imperfectly drained bogs. 

48. Danthonia. 

Lower pale seven to nine nerved, with a flat and spi- 
rally twisting awn made of the three middle nerves. In 
other respects nearly like Avena. 

Wild Oat Grass, White Top, Old Fog {Danthonia 
sjncata?)^ Fig. 96, is common in dry, sunny pastures, 
with a stem one foot high, slender, with short leaves, 
narrow sheaths, bearded ; panicle simple ; spikelets 
seven-flowered ; lower palea broadly ovate, loosely 
hairy on the back, longer than its awl-shaped teeth — 
perennial. Flowers in June. It is called white top in 
some localities, but is not the grass most commonly 
known by that name. Its spikelet appears magnified in 
Fig. 97; itslower pale, inFig. 98; its upper pale, in Fig. 
99 ; its seed, in Fig. 100. 

49. Trisetum. 

Spikelets two to seven flowered, often in a contracted 
panicle ; lower pale compressed, keeled, with a bent awn 
on the back. 



124 



DOWNY OAT GRASS. 



Downy Persoon {Trisetum molle) is a grass with 
dense panicles, much contracted, oblong or linear, awn 
bent or diverging ; lower palea compressed, keeled ; 




Fig. 101. Downy Oat Grass. 



Fig. 102. MeadoMT Oat Qrasa. 



MEADOW OAT GRASS. 



125 



leaves flat and short ; found on rocky river-banks and 
mountains, about one foot high. It flowers in July. 
Of no agricultural value. 

Marsh Oat Grass (Trisetum palustre) is a species 
found in low grounds, from New York to Illinois, and 
southward, from two to three feet high, leaves flat and 
short, spikelets yellowish-white, tinged green; panicle 
long, narrow, loose, hairy ; spikelets flat. 

The Downy Oat Grass {Trisetum puhescens) is a 
very hardy perennial grass, naturalized on chalky soils, 
and on such soils its leaves are covered with a coating 
of downy hairs, which it loses when cultivated on bet- 
ter lands. It is regarded as a good permanent pasture 
grass, on account of its hardiness and its being but a 
slight impoverisher of the soil, and yielding a larger 
per cent, of bitter extractive than other grasses groAvn 
on poor, light soils. It is, therefore, recommended 
abroad as a prominent ingredient of mixtures for pas- 
tures. It flowers early in July. Fig. 101 represents 
this plant as it appears in blossom. 

50. A VENA. Oat. 

Spikelets three to many flowered, with an open, large, 
diffuse panicle ; lower pale seven to eleven nerved, with 
a long, usually twisted awn on the back; stamens three ; 
grain oblong, grooved on the side, usually hairy and free. 

Meadow Oat Grass (Avena pro- 

tensis), Fig. 102, is a perennial grass, 

. native of the pastures of Great Bri- 

i tain, growing to the height of about 

'^'' eighteen inches. It furnishes a hay 

of medium quality. Flourishes best 

on dry soils. Flowers in July. Figs. 

103 and 104 represent the flowers 

of this grass magnified. 




Fig. 103 



126 



YELLOW OAT GRASS. 



The Yellow Oat Grass {Avena Jlavescens), Fig. 105, 
can scarcely, perhaps, be regarded as naturahzed liere. 

It is a perennial plant of slow 
growth and medium quality, 
cultivated to some extent in 
France, and suitable for dry 
meadows and pastures. It is 
sometimes regarded as a weed. 
It fails, if cultivated alone, but 
succeeds with other grasses, 
and is said to be the most 
useful for fodder of any of the 
oat grasses. It seems to grow 
best with the crested dog's 
tail and sweet-scented vernal. 
It contains a larger proportion 
of bitter extractive than most 
other grasses, and for that rea- 
son is recommended by some 
English writers as a valuable 
pasture grass. It flowers in 
July. Fig. 106 represents the 
flower of this grass magnified. 

Purple Wild Oat (Avena 
striata) is found on rocky, 
shaded hillsides, 
from New Eng- 
land and New 
York, northward. 
Stems tufted, from 
one to two feet 
ligh, and slender ; 
leaves narrow ; 
panicle loose and 

Fig. 105. Yellow Oat Grass. Fig. 106. 





TALL OAT GRASS. 127 

drooping, when ripe ; lower pale with a short, bearded 
tuft at the base. It blossoms in June. 

Early Wild Oat (Avena prcecox) is a dwarf species, 
found in sandy fields from New Jersey to Virginia, 
growing only from three to four inches high ; leaves 
short and bristle-shaped. 

The Common Oat (Avena sativa) is well known to 
every farmer. — See next chapter. 

51. Arrhenatherum. Oat Grass. 

Spikelets two-flowered and a rudiment of a third, open ; 
lowest flower staminate or sterile, with a long bent awn 
below the middle of the back. 

Tall Meadow Oat Grass, or Tall Oat Grass (Ar- 
rhenatherum avenaceum), is the avena elatior of Linnf©us. 
Spikelets open panicled, two-flowered, lower flower 
staminate, bearing a long bent awn below the middle of 
the back ; leaves flat, acute, roughish on both sides, 
most on the inner ; panicle leaning slightly on one side ; 
glumes very unequal; stems from two to three feet 
high ; root perennial, fibrous, sometimes bulbous. It is 
readily distinguished from other grasses by its having 
two florets, the lower one having a long awn rising 
from a little above the base of the outer palea. Intro- 
duced. Flowers from May to July. Shown in Fig. 107. 
A magnified spikelet is seen in Fig. 108. 

This is the Ray grass of France. It produces an 
abundant supply of foliage, and is valuable for pasture 
on account of its early and luxuriant growth. It is 
often found on the borders of fields and hedges, woods 
and pastures, and is sometimes very plenty in mowing 
lands. After being mown it shoots up a very thick 
aftermath, and, on this account, partly, is regarded as 
nearly equal for excellence to the common meadow fox- 



128 



TALL MEADOW OAT GRASS. 



tail. It has been higbly recommended for soiling, as 
furnishing an early supply of fodder. 




Fig. 107. Tall Meadow Oat Grass. 



Fig. 108. 



MEADOW SOFT GRASS. 129 

It grows spontaneously on deep, sandy soils, when 
once naturalized. It has been cultivated to some ex- 
tent in New England, and was at one time highly 
esteemed, mainly ior its early, rapid, and late growth, 
making it very well calculated as a permanent pasture 
grass. It will succeed on tenacious clover soils. 

' 52. HoLCUS. Meadoio Soft Grass. 

Spikelets two-flowered, jointed with the pedicels; 
glumes boat-shaped, membranaceous, enclosing and ex- 
ceeding the flowers ; lower flower perfect, its lower 
palea awnless and pointless ; upper flower staminate 
only, bearing a stout bent awn below the apex. Sta- 
mens three ; grain free, slightly grooved. 

Meadow Soft Grass, Velvet Grass {Holcus lancu- 
<ws),has its spikelets crowded in a somewhat open pani- 
cle, and an awn with the lower part perfectly smooth. 

It grows from one to two feet high ; stem erect, 
round ; root perennial, fibrous; leaves four or five, with 
soft, downy sheaths; upper sheath much longer than its 
leaf, inflated, ligule obtuse ; joints usually four, gen- 
erally covered with soft, downy hairs, the points of 
which are turned downwards ; leaves pale-green, flat, 
broad, acute, soft on both sides, covered with delicate 
' slender hairs. Inflorescence compound panicled, of a 
greenish, reddish, or pinkish tinge ; hairy glumes, 
oblong, tipped with a minute bristle. Florets of two 
paleae. Flowers in June. Introduced. It is seen in 
Fig. 109, and its flowers magnified in Figs. Ill and 112. 

This beautiful grass grows in moist fields and peaty 
soils, but I have found it on dry, sandy soils, and on 
upland fields, where it was cultivated with other grasses. 
It is productive and easy of cultivation, but of very little 
value either for pasture or hay, cattle not being fond 
of it. When once introduced it will readily spread 



130 CREEPING SOFT GRASS. 

from its light seeds, which are easily dispersed by the 





Fig. 109. Meadow Soft Grass. 



rig. 110. Creeping Soft Grass. 



HOLY GRASS. 131 

wind. It does not merit cultivation except on poor, 
peaty lands, where better grasses will not succeed. 







Fig. 111. Fig. 112. Fig. 113. Fig. 114. 



The Creeping Soft Grass {Holcus mollis), Fig. 110, 
is of no value, and is regarded as a troublesome weed. 
Distinguished from the preceding by its awned floret 
and its creeping root. Tlie flowers of this grass are 
seen magnified in Figs. 113 and 114. 

53. HiEROCHLOA. Holy Grass. 

Panicle open, spikelets three-flowered ; the two 
lower flowers staminate ; glumes equalhng the spikelet; 
leaves linear, flat. 

Seneca Grass, or Yanilla Grass (HierocJdoa hor-e- 
alis), has spikelets three-flowered ; flowers all with two 
palese ; branches of the panicle smooth ; grows from 
twelve to eighteen inches high. Stems erect, round, 
smooth ; panicle somewhat spreading, rather one-sided ; 
leaves short, broad, lanceolate, rough on the inner side, 
smooth behind ; spikelets rather large. Grows in wet 
meadows. Flowers in May. Common and generally 
difl"used, but of no value for cultivation, on account of 
its powerful creeping roots, and very slight spring- 
foliage. 

This grass derived its generic name, Hierochloa, holy 
grass, from two Greek words, signifying sacred grass, 
from the fact that it was customary to strew it before 
the doors of the churches on festival and saint's days,- 
in the north of Europe. In Sweden it is sold to be 



132 SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL GRASS. 

hung up over beds, where it is supposed to induce 
sleep. 

Alpine Holy Grass {Hierodiloa Alpina) is found on 
mountain-tops in New England and New York, and 
northward. Panicle contracted, from one to two inches 
long. Lower leaves narrow. Flowers in July. Of no 
value for cultivation. 

54. Anthoxanthum. 

Spikelets three-flowered in spiked panicles ; the late- 
ral flowers neutral, consisting only of one pale, hairy on 
the outside, and awned on the back. Glumes very thin, 
acute, keeled, the upper twice the length of the lower, 
and as long as the flowers. 

Sweet-scented Vernal Grass {Anthoxanthum odo- 
ratum). — Spikelets spreading, three-flowered ; lateral 
flowers neutral, with one palea, hairy on the outside, and 
awned on the back ; glumes thin, acute, keeled, the upper 
twice as long as the lower ; seed ovate, adhering to the 
palea which encloses it; root perennial. Flowers in 
May and June. Stems from one and a half to two feet 
high. Introduced from Europe. It is seen in Fig. 115. 

This is one of the earliest spring grasses, as well as 
one of the latest in the autumn, and is almost the only 
grass that is fragrant. It possesses a property said to 
be peculiar to this species, or possessed by only a few 
others, known as benzoic acid ; and it is said to be this 
which not only gives it its own aromatic odor, but 
imparts it to other grasses with which it is cured. The 
green leaves when bruised give out this perfume to the 
fingers, and the plant may thus be known. It possesses 
but little vakie of itself, its nutritive properties being 
slight ; nor is it much relished by stock of any kind; but 
as a pasture grass, with a large mixture of other species, 
it is valuable for its early growth. 



REED CANARY GRASS. 



133 



It is not uncommon in our pastures and roadsides, 
growing as if it were indigenous. 




Fig. 115. Sweet-scented Vernal. Fig 119. 

12 



Fig. 118. Reed Canary Grass. 



134 SEEDS OP SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL. 

The aftermath or fall growth of this beautiful grass is 
said to be richer in nutritive qualities than the growth 
of the spring. Though it is pretty generally diffused 
over the country, it is only on certain soils that it takes 
complete possession of the surface, and forms the pre- 
dominant grass in a permanent turf. 

A curious and beautiful peculiarity is exhibited in the 
seeds of this grass, by which they are prevented from 
germinating in wet weather, after approaching maturity, 
and thus becoming abortive. The husks of the blossom 
adhering to the seed when ripe, and tiie jointed awn by 
its spiral contortions, when afiTected by the alternate 
moisture and dryness of the atmosphere, act like levers 
to separate and lift it out from the calyx, even before 
the grass is bent or lodged, and while the spike is still 
erect. If the hand is moistened, and the seeds placed 
in it, they will appear to move like insects, from the 
uncoiling of the spiral twist of the awns attached to 
them. 

The flowers of the sweet-scented vernal grass are 
seen in Figs. 116 and 117. There are nine hundred 
and twenty-three thousand two hundred seeds in a 
pound, and eight pounds in a bushel. It cannot be said 
to belong to the grasses useful for general cultivation. 

55. Phalaris. Canary Grass. 

Spikelets crowded in a dense spiked panicle, with 
two neutral rudiments of a flower, one on each side, at 
the base of theflattish perfect one; awnless: two shining 
pales, shorter than the equal boat-shaped glumes, closely 
enclosing the smooth, flattened grain ; stamens three. 

Keed Canary Grass {Phalaris arundinacea) has a 
panicle very slightly branched, clustered, somewhat 
spreading when old, but not so much generally, as ap- 
pears in Fig. 118; glumes wingless, rudimentary florets 



STRIPED GRASS. 135 

hairy ; stem round, smooth, erect, from two to seven feet 
high; leaves five or six in number, broad, h'ghtish-green, 
acute, harsh, flat-ribbed, central rib the most promi- 
nent, roughish on both surfaces, edges minutely toothed; 
smooth, striated sheaths. Flowers in July. It grows 
on wet grounds by the sides of rivers and standing 
pools. There are about five hundred thousand grains 
or seeds of triis grass to the pound. It may be gathered 
and sown with winter grain, to be ploughed in as a 
green manuring. 

A beautiful variety of this species is the Ribbon or 
Striped Grass of the gardens, familiar to every one. 
The reed canary grass will bear cutting two or three 
times in a season, but if not cut early, the foliage is 
coarse. Cattle are not very fond of it at any stage of 
its growth ; but if cut early and well cured, they will 
eat it in the winter, if they can get nothing better. For 
some experiments Avith this hay in comparison with 
others, see page 106. 

This grass is not unfrequently produced by trans- 
planting the roots of the striped grass into suitable 
soils. In one instance, within my knoAvledge, it came 
in and produced an exceedingly heavy crop, simply from 
roots of ribbon grass, which had been dug up from a 
garden and thrown into the brook, to get them out of 
the way. Several other instances of a similar nature 
have also come to my notice. One farmer has propa- 
gated it extensively in his wet meadows by forcing the 
ripe seed-panicles into the mud with his feet. As the 
stripe of the ribbon grass is onl}^ accidental, dependent 
on location and soil, it constitutes only a variety of the 
reed canary grass, and loses the stripe when transferred 
to a wet and muddy soil. 

The cut, Fig. 118, was made from a specimen too far 
advanced to show this grass as it ordinarily appears ; 



136 NUTRITIVE QUALITIES. 

the panicle or head is too spreading, and not sufficiently 
long. I have fine specimens with panicles three times 
as long as appears in the drawing, and more in the 
shape of a spike of Timothy. 

To ascertain the exact nutritive qualities of this grass 
when cured as hay, a careful analysis has been made, at 
my request, by Prof. E. N. Horsford,, of Cambridge, 
with the following result : Of water, the specimen con- 
tained 10.42 per cent.; ash, 5.31 per cent.; nitrogen, 
.55 per cent. ; nitrogenous ingredients, flesh-forming 
principles, 3.53 per cent. ; woody fibre, starch, gum, 
sugar, <fec., 80.73 per cent. It will be seen, by reference 
to a subsequent page, containing analyses, by Prof. 
Way, that this grass is very far inferior to many other 
grasses examined by him. The panicles of this grass, 
if allowed to stand after the time of flowering, become 
filled with ergot, or long, black spurs, issuing from 
between the glumes, and occupying the place of grain. 
This, if there were no other reason, would be sufficient 
to determine that it should be cut at or before the time 
of flowering. I have never seen rye worse affected 
than my specimens of this grass are. The effects of 
this mysterious disease are well known. The noxious 
power it exerts on the system of animals, which receive 
even a small portion of it, is oftentimes dreadful, pro- 
ducing "most horrible gangrenes, rotting of the extrem- 
ities, internal tortures, and agonizing death. It has 
been known to slough and kill not a few human beings, 
who have accidentally or inadvertently eaten grain or 
flour infected with it." 

The flower of the reed canary grass is shown in 
Fig. 119. The variety called striped grass (Colorata) 
is exceedingly hardy, and may be propagated to any 
extent by dividing and transplanting the roots. In 
moist soils it spreads rapidly, and forms a thick mass of 



MILLET GRASSES. 137 

fodder, which might be repeatedly cut without injury, 
though it is of little value for feeding stock. 

The Common Canaey Grass (Phalaris Canariensis) 
is cultivated in gardens, and to some extent in fields 
and waste places, for the sake of the seed for the canary- 
bird. It has a spiked, oval panicle ; glumes wing- 
keeled ; rudimentary flowers smooth, and half the 
length of the perfect one. Flowers in July and August. 

56. Milium. Ilillet Grass. 

Spikelets diffusely panicled, not jointed with their 
pedicels ; stamens three ; stigmas branched ; grain not 
grooved, enclosed in the pales, all falling together. 

Millet Grass {Milium efusum) is found growing 
commonly in moist, shady woods, mountain meadows, 
and on the borders of streams. Panicle widely diffuse, 
compound; glumes ovate, very obtuse; leaves broad 
and flat, thin ; root perennial ; flower oblong. Flowers 
in June. Introduced. Of no value for cultivation, ex- 
cept as a green manuring plant, the foliage possessing 
but slight nutritive qualities. The seeds are millet-like, 
one hundred and fifty tliousand to the pound, and are 
sought by birds. It will thrive transplanted to open 
places. 

Double-bearing Millet Grass (Milium purshii) is 
found on the moist, sandy pine barrens of New Jersey. 
Referred by Gray to Amphicarpum. 

57. Cynosurus. 

Spikelets three to five flowered, with a comb-like in- 
volucre at the base of each ; inflorescence racemed ; 
florets tipped with a rough awn. 

Crested Dog's-tail {Cynosurus cristatus). — Fig. 
120. This grass is rarely found here, but has been 
12* 



138 



CRESTED DOG'S-TAIL. 



introduced and cultivated to some extent by way of 
experiment. Its spikes are simple, linear ; spikelets 

awnless ; stems one foot high, 
stijff, smooth ; root perennial, 
fibrous, and tufted. Flowers 
in July. It is said to be a 
valuable permanent pasture 
grass ; but cattle seldom eat 
it after it is ripe, on account 
of its wiry stems. On dry, 
hard soils and hills, pastured 
with sheep, it would doubtless 
be of value for its hardiness. 
At the time of flowering it 
is tender and nutritious. A 
magnified spikelet is shown in 
Fig. 121. 

The stems of this grass are 
used for the manufacture of 
plat for Leghorn hats and 
bonnets, and have the reputa- 
tion of being equal or superior 
to Italian straw. They are 
gathered green when in blos- 
som, immersed in boiling 
water for ten minutes, and 
then spread out 
to bleach for 
eight days. An- 
other mode of 
treatment is to 
keep them in 
boiling water for 

Fig. 120. Crested Dog's-tail. Fig. 121. ^^ j^^^^.^ ^^^ 

then spread them out, and keep them moistened 





JOINT GRASS. • 139 

regularly till they become dried, or for two days, when 
they are placed in a tight vessel and subjected to the 
fumes of burning sulphur for two hours. 

58. Paspalum. 

Spikelets spiked, or somewhat racemed, in two or 
four rows on one side of a flattened rachis, jointed, with 
thin, short pedicels, awnless, apparently but one- 
flowered, and difi'ering from Panicum in wanting the 
lower glume. Stamens three. 

Floating Paspalum {Paspalum fluitans) is a grass 
found in low swamps from Virginia to Illinois, and 
southward. Stems smooth, and rooting in the mud 
or floating. Of no value for cultivation. 

Hairy Slender Paspalum {Paspalum setaceum) has 
an erect or decumbent, slender culm, from one to two 
feet high, leaves and sheaths hairy; spikes slender, 
smooth, mostly solitary, on a long peduncle, spikelets 
narrowly two-rowed. Flowers in August. It is found 
on sandy fields and plains near the coast, and is rather 
common from Massachusetts to Illinois, and south- 
ward. 

Smooth Erect Paspalum {Paspalum Iceve) is also 
found on moist soils, from New England to Kentucky, 
and southward. It has an erect, stout stem, from one 
to throe feet high ; leaves long and large, with smooth 
or slightly hairy flattened sheaths ; spikelets broadly 
two-rowed. Flowers in August. 

Joint Grass {Paspalum disticlium) is common on 
wet fields in Virginia and southward, flowering in July 
and August. It grows about a foot high, from a long, 
creeping base. Spikes short and closely floAvered ; 
rachis flat on the back ; spikelets egg-shaped and slightly 
pointed. 



140 THE PANIC GRASSES. 

Finger-shaped Paspalum {Paspalum digitaria) is 
also found in Virginia, and further south, growing from 
one to two feet high; spikes slender and sparsely- 
flowered. 

59. Panicum. Panic Grasses. 

Spikelets panicled or racemed, sometimes spiked ; 
glumes two, the lower one short, minute, or wanting ; 
lower flower neutral, rarely awned , upper perfect ; 
stamens three ; stigmas usually purple. 

Slender Crab Grass {^Panicum fillforme) is an 
annual finger grass, somewhat resembling the Finger- 
shaped Paspalum, but the upper glume equals the flower, 
while the lower is nearly wanting, and the spikes are 
more erect. It flourishes on sandy, dry soils, especially 
near the coast. Flowers in August. 

Smooth Crab Grass [Panicum glahrum) resembles 
the last, with the spikes digitate, three to four, spread- 
ing ; rachis flat and thin, spikelets ovoid. It is common 
in cultivated grounds, waste places, and on sandy fields. 
Flowers in August and September. A troublesome 
weed. 

Finger Grass, Common Crab Grass [Panicum so.n- 
guinale). — The panic grasses are widely spread and 
common all over the country. 

The stems of the Finger Grass are from one to two 
feet high, erect, spreading ; leaves and sheaths hairy ; 
spikes four to fifteen ; digitate ; upper glume half the 
length of the flower ; loAver one small. It grows on 
waste or neglected cultivated grounds and gardens, and 
yards, and is generally regarded as a troublesome weed. 
Introduced. Flowers from August to October. 

Double-headed Panic [Panicum a7iceps) is found 
on the wet pine barrens of New Jersey to Virginia, and 



PROLIFIC PANIC. 141 

south. Stems flat, two to four feet high. Flowers in 
August. 

Agrostis-like Panic Grass (Panicum agrostoides) 
has flattened, upright stems, two feet high ; leaves long, 
sheaths smooth ; spikelets on the spreading branches, 
crowded, and one-sided, ovate, oblong, acute, purplish. 
It is common on wet meadows and borders of rivers, 
from Massachusetts to Virginia, Illinois, and southward. 
Flowers in July and August. 

Prolific Panic Grass (Panicum proUferum) grows 
on brackish marshes and meadows, and is common 
along the coast from Massachusetts southward, and 
along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. It sometimes 
appears on dry places. Cattle are fond of it. It differs 
from the preceding in having culms thickened, succu- 
lent, branched, and bent, ascending from a procumbent 
base, and spikelets appressed, lance-oval, of a pale-green 
color. 

Hair-stalked Panic Grass (Panicum capillare) 
grows in sandy soils and cultivated fields everywhere. 
Its culm is upright, often branched at the base, and 
forming a tuft; sheaths flattened, very hairy; panicle 
P3'ramidal, hairy, compound, and very loose ; spikelets 
scattered, on long pedicels, oblong, pointed. Flowers 
in August and September. 

Autumn Panic (Panicum autumnale) groAvs about 
a foot high, with very slender stems, branching below. 
Found from Illinois southward. 

Tall Smooth Panic Grass (Panicum virgatum). — 
Stems upright, three to five feet high ; leaves very long, 
flat; panicle large, loose, and compound; branches 
spreading when grown, and drooping ; spikelets scat- 
tered, oval, pointed ; glumes usually purplish. Grows 



142 COMMON MILLET. 

pretty commonly in moist, sandy soils, especially at the 
South ; flowers in August, 

Bitter Panic {Fanicum amarum) is found on sandy 
shores, from Connecticut to Virginia, and further south. 
Flowers in August and September. 

Broad-leaved Panic Grass {Panicum latifoUum). — 
This is a grass with a perennial, fibrous root, and stem 
from one to two feet high ; with leaves broad, long, 
taper-pointed, smooth or slightly downy; branches of 
panicle spreading; spikelets long, obovate, downy. 
Flowers in June and July. It is common in moist 
thickets and woods. Of no value for cultivation. 

The Hidden-flowered Panic Grass {Panicum clan- 
destinum) is found in low thickets, and on the banks of 
streams, from one to three feet high, very leafy to the 
top, the joints naked ; sheaths rough, and bearing very 
stiff and spreading bristly hairs. Flowers from July to 
September. 

Yellow Panic Grass [Panicum xanihophysum) 
grows on dry, sandy soils, from Maine to Wisconsin, 
and northward. It is of a yellowish-green color, the 
spikelets downy ; sheaths hairy ; leaves lanceolate, 
acute, smooth, except on the margins. 

Sticky Panic Grass (Panicum viscidum) grows 
with an upright stem, leafy to the top, densely velvety, 
downy all over, including the sheaths, with reflexed, 
soft, often clammy hairs, except a ring below the joint; 
panicles spreading; spikelets long and downy. Moist 
soils, from New Jersey to Virginia, and southward. 

Common Millet (Panicum miUaceum). — Flowers in 
large, open, nodding panicles ; leaves lance-shaped, 
broad ; stem one to two feet high ; native of Turkey. 
It is shown in Fig. 122. 

Many varieties of millet have at times been culti- 



COMMON MILLET. 



143 



vated in this country, and its culture is gaining favor 
every year. Millet is one of 
the best crops we have for cut- 
ting and feeding green for soil- 
ing purposes, since its yield is 
large, its luxuriant leaves juicy 
and tender, and much relished 
by milch cows and other stock. 

The seed is rich in nutritive 
qualities, but it is very seldom 
ground or used for flour, 
though it is said to exceed all 
other kinds of meal or flour in 
nutritive elements. An acre, 
well cultivated, will yield from 
sixty to seventy bushels of 
seed. Cut in the blossom, as 
it should be, for feeding to 
cattle, the seed is comparatively 
valueless. If allowed to ripen 
its seed, the stalk is no more 
nutritious, probably, than oat 
straw. 

Millet requires good soil, and 
is rather an exhausting crop, 
but yields a produce valuable in 
proportion to the richness of 
the soil, and care and expense 
of cultivation. 

Few-flowered Panic (Pani- 
cum pauciflorum) is found in 
wet meadows, from New York 
to Wisconsin, and southward. 
Stems upright, from one to two 

Commoa Millet. 




144: BARN GRASS. 

feet long, roughisli ; panicle open. Flowers in Juno 
and July. 

POLYMORPHUS Panic {Panicum diclwtomum) is com- 
mon in all parts of the country, on dry and low grounds. 
Lower glume roundish, one-third or a quarter the length 
of the five to seven nerved upper one. 

Worthless Panic [Panicum depauperatum) is also 
common northward, in dry woods and hills. Stems 
simple, forming close tufts, terminated by a simple and 
few-flowered contracted panicle, often overtopped by 
the upper leaves. 

Warty Panic {Panicum verrucosum) is found in 
sandy swamps, near the coast, from New England to 
Virginia, and southward. Stems branching and slender, 
smooth, one to two feet high ; leaves shining ; branches 
of the diffuse panicle slender, few-flowered ; spikelets 
oval, roughish with warts, dark-gieen. Flowers in 
August. 

Barn Grass, or Barn-yard Grass {Panicum crus-gaUi), 
is very common. Its spikes are alternate and in pairs, 
sheaths smooth, rachis bristly ; stem from two to four 
feet high, stout, erect, or somewhat procumbent; leaves 
half an inch broad ; panicle dense, pyramidal ; glumes 
acute; awn variable in length, and sometimes wanting; 
outer palea of the neutral flower usually awned. One 
or two varieties have rough or bristly sheaths. It 
grows on moist, rich, or manured soils, and along the 
coast in ditches. Flowers in August, September, and 
October. 

Some experiments have been made to cultivate this 
common species in the place of millet, to cut for green 
fodder. It is relished by stock, and is very succulent 
and nutritive, while its yield is large. 



HUNGARIAN GRASS, 



145 



Hungarian Grass, Hungarian Millet {Panicum 
Germanicum),\rds been cultivated to considerable extent 
in this coun- 
try, from seed 
received from ; 
France thro' 
theU.S.Patent 
Office. 

It is an an- 
nual forage plant, introduced into 
France in 1815, where its cultiva- 
tion has become considerably ex- 
tended. It germinates readily, 
withstands the drought remarkably, 
remaining green even when other 
vegetation is parched up, and if its 
development is arrested by dry 
weather, the least rain will restore 
it to vigor. It has numerous suc- 
culent leaves, which furnish an 
abundance of green fodder, very 
much relished by all kinds of stock. 
It is shown in Fig. 123. 

It flourishes in somewhat light 
and dry soils, though it attains its 
greatest luxuriance in soils of 
medium consistency and well ma- 
nured. It may be sown broadcast, 
and cultivated precisely like the 
varieties of millet. 

This grass is thought to contain 
a somewhat higher percentage of 
nutriment than the common millet, 
though I am not aware that it has 

been analyzed. It is a leafy plant, Fig. 123. Hungarian Grass. 
13 




146 BOTTLE GRASS. 

and remains green until its seeds mature, and is no 
doubt valuable for fodder, both green and dry, growing 
and maturing in about the same time as common millet. 
From twenty-five to thirty bushels of seed to the acre 
have been obtained. 

60. Setaria. 

Spikelets as in the genus Panicum, awnless, with 
short peduncles or flower-stalks produced beyond 
them into solitary or clustered bristles, like awns. In- 
florescence in dense, spiked panicles, or cylindrical 
spikes. Annuals. 

The Bristly Foxtail [Setaria vertlcillata) is a grass 
sometimes, though rarely, found about farm-houses. It 
has cylindrical spikes two or three inches long, pale- 
green, somewhat interrupted with wliorled, short clus- 
ters, bristles single or in pairs, roughened or barbed 
downwards, short. 

Bottle Grass, sometimes called Foxtail {Setaria 
glauca). — This is an annual, with a stem from one to 
three feet high ; leaves broad, hairy at the base ; sheaths 
smooth ; ligule bearded ; spike two to three inches long, 
dense, cylindrical ; bristles six to eleven in a cluster, 
rough upwards ; perfect flower wrinkled. The spike is 
of a tawny or dull orange-yellow, when old. Flowers 
in July. It is common in cultivated grounds and barn- 
yards. Introduced. 

The Green Foxtail, sometimes also called Bottle 
Grass (Setaria viridis), has a cylindrical spike, more or 
less compound, green ; bristles few in a cluster, longer 
than the spikelets ; flower perfect, striate lengthwise 
and dotted. It is common in cultivated grounds. 

The Bengal Grass, sometimes called Millet (Setaria 
italica), also belongs to this genus. It has a compound 



GAMA GRASS. 147 

spike, thick, nodding, six to nine inches long, yellowish 
or purplish ; bristles two or three in a cluster. Intro- 
duced from Europe. 

61. Cenchrus. Bur Ch-asses. 

Spikelets enclosed, one to five together, in a round- 
ish and bristly covering, which becomes a hard bur. 

Bur Grass, or Hedgehog Grass ( Cenchrus tribuloides), 
is somewhat common on sandy soils on the coast, or 
near the salt water, where the spikes are whitish, and 
around the great northern lakes. It is regarded as a 
troublesome weed, on account of its prickly burs. Stems 
branched at the base, from one to two feet high ; leaves 
flat; spike oblong. 

62. Tripsacum. Gama Grass. 

Spikelets in jointed spikes, staminate above, and fer- 
tile below ; staminate spikelets two, both alike ; two- 
flowered ; lower glume nerved ; upper boat-shaped ; 
pales thin, awnless ; anthers opening by two pores at 
the apex ; stems tall and large, solid, from thick, creep- 
ing roots ; leaves broad and flat. 

Gama Grass, or Sesame Grass (Tripsacum dacty- 
loides), is one of the largest and most beautiful grasses, 
though not one that would be considered of much value 
where better could be grown. Its stalk is from four to 
seven feet high, and the leaves look not very unlike 
those of Indian corn. Grows on moist soils, near the 
coast, from New England to Pennsylvania, west to 
Illinois, and more common at the South, in Louisiana, 
and adjoining states, where it is indigenous. It is a 
stout, coarse, and hardy grass. 

63. Erianthus. Woolly Beard. 

Spikelets in pairs on each joint of the slender rachis, 
one on apedicelj the other connected at its base, crowded 



148 



FINGER-SPIKED WOOD GRASS. 



in a panicle, and clothed with long, silky hairs. Stamens 
one to three. Grain free. 

Woolly Beard Grass (Erianthus alopecuroides) is 
found on the wet pine barrens of New Jersey, in 
Illinois, and at the South. It grows from four to six 
feet high ; woolly-bearded at the joints ; panicle con- 
tracted ; silky hairs longer than the spikelets. 

Short-awned Woolly Beard [Erianthus brevibarbis) 
is also found on low grounds, in Virginia and southward, 
growing from two to five feet high, and somewhat 
bearded at the upper joints. Panicle rather open. 

64. Andropogon. 

Spikelets much the same as in 
the preceding genus, bearing a 
neuter or staminate lower flower; 
glumes and palete often wanting ; 
upper flower perfect ; glumes awn- 
less ; lower palea awned. Flowers 
in panicles and spikes. Most of 
these grasses are .coarse and hard 
perennials, having lateral or term- 
inal spikes, commonly clustered 
or digitate, Avith the rachis hairy 
or feathery-bearded. 

Finger-spiked Wood Grass (An- 
dropogon furcatus) grows al)out 
four feet high ; leaves nearly 
smooth ; spikes digitate, or general- 
ly by threes and fours ; lower 
flower awnless; the spikelets rougli- 
ish, downy ; the awn bent. Flowers 
124- in September. A spike of this grass 
Fig. 124, a part of it enlarged in Fig. 125, 
its pistil in Fig. 126, its glumes in Fig. 127. It is com- 
mon on sterile soils, rocky banks, and hill-sides. 




INDIAN GEASS. 149 

Purple Wood Grass, Broom Grass {Andropogon 
scopariics), is found on sterile, sandy soils, flowering 
from July to September. It grows from two to four 
feet high, with many-branched panicles ; lower sheaths 
and narrow leaves hairy; spikes mostly single, very loose, 
slender, slightly silky, with dull, white hairs ; rachis zig- 
zag, hairy along the edges. 

Silver Beard Grass {Andropogon argenteus) grows 
about three feet high, with spikes in pairs, on peduncles 
exceeding the sheaths, dense, and very silky. Common 
on sterile, sandy soils, in Virginia and southward, flow- 
ering in September and October. 

Virginian Beard Grass {Andropogon Virgmicus) 
grows on similar soils to the last, from New York to 
Illinois, and southward. Stem flattish below; slender, 
short-branched above; sheaths smooth; spikes soft, 
two or three in distant clusters. 

Cluster-flowered Beard Grass {Andropogon ma- 
crourus) is found from New York to Virginia, south- 
ward on the coast. Stems from two to three feet high, 
bushy, branched at the summit, with many spikes, form- 
ing thick, leafy clusters ; sheaths rough, the upper 
hairy. 

65. Sorghum. 

Spikelets two or three together, in an open panicle, 
the lateral ones sterile, middle fertile ; stamens three. 

Indian Grass, Wood Grass {Sorghum rmtcms), is a 
grass sometimes found on our dry, sterile soils, with a 
panicle oblong, somewhat compressed, from six to ten 
inches long ; stem from three to five feet high ; leaves 
linear, grayish ; sheaths smooth ; spikelets light brown 
and glossy, drooping when mature ; hairy at the base ; 
awn twisted. It flowers in August. 
13* 



150 BROOM CORN. 

Indian Millet {Sorghum vulgare) is a cultivated 
species, and has several well-marked varieties. It is 
called Guinea corn in the West Indies, Dhourra in Ara- 
bia, Jovaree in India, and Nagara in the north of China. 
It is sometimes used as a forage plant. 

The tall cereal, which has long been cultivated in the 
south of Europe and in Barbary, under the general 
name of sorghum, resembles Indian corn in quality, and 
is often called small maize. Its stems contain a pretty 
large per cent, of saccharine matter, and it is useful to 
cut green as a forage plant. 

Indian millet, when raised on good soil and under 
favorable circumstances, is said to yield a larger quan- 
tity of seed to the acre than any other cereal grass 
known, not excepting even Indian corn. Its nutritive 
quality is nearly equal to that of wheat. The common 
millet is the panicum miliaceum. 

Broom Corn (Sorghum saccharatum) is considered by 
some botanists as a variety of Sorghum vulgare; by 
others, as a distinct species. Its leaves are linear; 
ligules short and hairy; panicle with long, loose, expand- 
ing branches. It is an annual, and flowers in August, 
growing from six to nine feet high. Native of India. 

The panicles are used for brooms, and the seeds for 
poultry, swine, &c. It is extensively cultivated in many 
parts of the country along the Connecticut River, in 
Massachusetts, the Mohawk, in New York, and at the 
West. It is said to have been first cultivated in this 
country by Dr. Franklin, who found a seed on a stalk 
in the possession of a lady, and planted it. 

Chinese Sugar-Cane, Sorgho, or Sorgho Sucre 
{Sorghum nigrum), is a plant well known throughout the 
United States. It rises with a stem from six to fifteen 
feet high, according to the soil on which it grows, erect, 



CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 151 

smooth; leaves linear, flexuous, gracefully curving 




4fy~r y^K,^^-' 



Fig. 128. Chinese Sugar Cane. 



152 SUGAR-CANE. 

down at the ends, resembling Indian corn in its early 
growth, and broom corn, to which it is nearly allied, at 
maturity. Flowers in a panicle at the top, at first 
green, changing through the shades of violet to pur- 
ple, when more advanced. It is seen in Fig. 126. 

This plant has lately been introduced and used for 
forage, and experiments have been made with it lor the 
manufacture of molasses or sirup and sugar. 

It is rich in saccharine matter, and a large amount of 
nutritive fodder can be obtained from it. 

It grows best on a dry soil, and under a hot sun, and 
is usually planted in the same manner as Indian corn, 
both as to preparation of ground and time of planting ; 
generally in hills when it is intended to ripen its seed, 
and in drills when it is wanted to cut up green for soil- 
ing purposes, or to cure and feed out in winter as a 
forage crop. 

Various opinions have been expressed, by practical 
farmers, as to the comparative value of this new addi- 
tion to our cultivated plants, and these opinions have 
been influenced much by the locality in which it was 
grown. 

Its culture, which was extensive in New England 
during the first year or two after its introduction, has 
been, to a great extent, abandoned there, while further 
experiments, in other sections of the country, have 
been attended with greater satisfaction. 

It has usually received the specific name of Sorghum 
saccharatum, Holcus saccJiaratus, &e., names which had 
been previously applied to another plant. It seems 
proper to yield to the prior claim, and I prefer to specify 
it as the Sorghum nigrum. 

The SuGAR-CANE(/iS^rtcc7«arwm officinarum) is a tropical 
grass closely allied to Erianthus. It has a simple, un- 
divided, jointed, and smooth stem, often two inches in 



CULTURE OP SUGAR-CANE. 153 

diameter, and from ten to twenty feet high; leaves long 
and pointed ; flowers small, on a terminal, loose panicle; 
glumes two, oblong, pointed, equal, concave, with the 
base surrounded with woolly hairs ; a perennial, fibrous 
root. 

The culture of several new varieties of sugar-cane is 
said to have been introduced into the Southern States, 
towards the close of the last century, from the islands 
of Bourbon, Java, and Otaheite. 

The sugar-cane is propagated from cuttings. It was 
undoubtedly cultivated at a very early date in China 
and India, from whence it was introduced into Europe, 
The culture of cane and the making of sugar has be- 
come an exceedingly important business at the West 
India Islands, in Louisiana, and adjoining states. 

The top joints of the stalks are selected for cuttings, 
they being least valuable, and less productive in saccha- 
rine matter than the lower parts. The plant tillers or 
sends up several shoots from the same root, like wheat. 

The land, after being properly prepared, is marked 
out in rows, about four feet apart, and in these rows 
holes are dug, from six to ten inches deep, about two 
or three feet apart. The plants require frequent hoeing 
and cultivation, but not to be renewed from cuttings 
every year. 

When the canes are ripe, they are cut up, cut into 
suitable lengths, and tied into bundles to be taken to 
the mill. Sugar-making requires experience and skill. 

QQ. Zea. Ilaize. 

Spikelets two-flowered ; flowers monoecious, the 
staminate in terminal panicles ; glumes two ; pales awn- 
less, obtuse ; the pistillate or fertile spikelets two-flow- 
ered, with the lower one abortive ; glumes two, obtuse ; 
pales awnless ; fruit compressed. 



154 INDIAN CORN. 

Indian Corn, Maize {Zea mays), is a true grass, 
familiar to everybody in this country, and by far the 
most important and extensively cultivated of any plant 
known to our agriculture. 

The practice of sowing Indian corn in drills, for the 
purpose of cutting up green for fodder, was recom- 
mended some years ago by a progressive agriculturist, 
and, though at first ridiculed, it soon came to be planted 
in small patches of a few rods square, by practical 
farmers iiere and there, till now it is regarded as almost 
an indispensable crop, not only to carry a stock of 
cattle through a severe summer drought, when our pas- 
tures arc short and dry, but to cut and cure in large 
quantities for winter use. The weight and value of an 
acre of corn fodder is very large. 

A more extended notice of this plant will be given 
in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE cerealia; or, the grasses cultivated 

FOR THEIR SEEDS. 

We have dwelt thus far chiefly upon the grasses, both 
cultivated and wild, which are used to greater or less 
extent as food for stock, either in the green and succu- 
lent stage of their growth, or cured for winter forage. 
In this chapter I propose to speak briefly of the cereals, 
or the grasses which are cultivated mainly on account 
of the large size of their farinaceous or mealy seeds. 

The Cerealia might properly be considered a genus 
of the great family of plants which forms the subject 
of this treatise, the Graminece, especially when taken 
from a practical point of view. The term itself was 
derived from Ceres, deified by the ancients as the beau- 
tiful goddess of corn, and it includes a class of plants 
by far the most important of any in the known world. 

The cereals are all annuals, and they die down after 
having fulfilled their natural destiny — the production 
and ripening of their seeds. In structure they resem- 
ble the grasses of which we have already spoken ; that 
is, they all have hollow stems, divided or closed at the 
joints, while from these joints start sheaths which rise, 
clasping the stems, but open or divided on one side. 
The ears or heads of the cereals consist of many flow- 
ers, arranged either in spikes, as in wheat, or panicles, 
as in oats, rice, and millet. They have three stamens. 

This class of plants consists chiefly of rice, Avheat, 

(155) 



156 



EICE. DESCEIPTION — ORIGIN. 



barley, rye, oats, millet, and Indian corn, all true grasses, 
which ill some respects resemble each other, and form 
\ a group by themselv^es. 

N^llj^ Rice ( Oryza sativa) is a long panicled grass, 

having, when ripe, some resemblance to oats, 
the seed growing in a separate pedicel start- 
ing from the main stalk. Each kernel term- 
inates in an awn, and is enclosed in a rough 
hut?k, or scale, of a yellowish color. The 
stem or stalk of rice is similar to that of 
wheat, except that the joints are more numer- 
ous. It is annual, and rises to the height of 
from two to six feet, according to the variety, 
soil, and culture. A stalk of rice, with its 
spiked panicle, is shown in Fig. 129. 

Rice-meal is composed, to a great extent, 
of starch, with but a comparatively small per- 
centage of gluten, which forms a large pro- 
portion of good wheat-flour. The seed is 
surrounded Avith a husk, which is so closely 
attached to it as to be difficult of separation. 
It is cleaned by passing through mill-stones, 
set far enough apart to prevent crushing the 
grain, but sufficiently near to remove the 
husks or chaff by friction. 

Rice, doubtless, originated in Asia, where 
it is known to have been extensively used 
for many ages, and where, from the earliest 
times of which we have any record, it has 
formed the chief and most important food of 
the inhabitants. It is also at the present time 
largely produced in Egypt, and forms an im- 
portant article of commerce, and a produc- 
tive source of wealth. The facilities for irri- 
gation afforded by the River Nile make it 



CULTURE. VARIETIES. 157 

comparatively easy of cultivation. The grain is there 
sepai'ated from the husk by means of pestles and 
mortars. 

The introduction of rice as a cultivated plant in the 
United States is of modern date. It was brought to 
South Carolina from the island of Madagascar towards 
the close of the seventeenth century, and, though for 
many years no means of cleannig it effectually were 
known, yet its cultivation extended, till finally the meth- 
ods of cleaning were so far perfected as to justify the 
reputation which the growers acquired, of producing 
the best rice in the world. 

The swamps and the climate of South Carolina are so 
admirably adapted to this plant that its culture is car- 
ried on at comparatively small expense of labor, while 
the grain itself arrives at great perfection, and is ac- 
knowledged to be of very fine quality, being generally 
larger than in the countries where it was originally 
grown. It has now become an exceedingly important 
article of export. 

Rice requires a great supply of moisture; and, unless 
rains are frequent, or the means of irrigation are at 
hand, it will prove improductive. 

There are several varieties. They originated, proba- 
bly, in differences of soil, climate, and culture. 

The common rice requires for its successful cultiva- 
tion a wet marsh, and on any other situation it fails to 
grow. It may be considered as almost an aquatic plant. 
Another variety, known as early rice, requires a similar 
soil, but is smaller, and comes to maturity earlier, and 
will generally ripen in about four months ; while com- 
mon rice requires six months. 

Mountain rice will succeed with less moisture. I am 
not aware that this variety has been cultivated, to any 
extent, in this country. 
14 



158 RICE CULTURE. — WHEAT. 

Clammy rice will grow both on swamps and uplands. 

Rice is generally sown in drills, into which it is 
dropped by hand ; after which the water is let on for 
several days, to the depth of some inches, when it is 
removed till the rice has sprouted and grown to the 
height of from two to four inches. The water is then 
again let on, and suffered to remain for some days. 
This destroys the grass and weeds, if any. After this 
it is occasionally hoed and cultivated, to keep it free 
from weeds. 

The harvest commences generally in August, and 
continues through September ; and it is generally cut 
with sickles, and gathered up into bundles. 

Rice is very extensively cultivated in China and in 
India, and along the River Po, in Lombard3^ It is prob- 
ably used as human food by a larger number than any 
other cereal grain. 

Wheat. 

Wheat {Triticum vulgare) is an annual herbaceous 
plant, of many varieties, all arising, probably, from the 
same parent, but modified by varieties of climate, soil, 
and culture. 

Wheat possesses, of course, the same general charac- 
teristics as the rest of the gramineae. The seed is ob- 
long, or a compressed oval, surrounded by scales or 
chaff, which are easily removed. That side of the ker- 
nel or fruit which was next to the rachis in growing is 
marked by a deep groove separating the mealy parts in 
the middle. On the other side a small oval is seen. This 
is the seat of the embryo, or place where the germ of 
the new plant is to take its start. This is al^o the point 
of attachment of the pedicel on which the kernel grew, 
and through which it derived all its growth and nour- 
ishment. On arriving at maturity a detachment takes 



MODE OF GROWTH. 



159 



place at this point, and it closes up so as to leave the 
seed free in its pales or husks, from which it is easily 
separated. 

The stalk or stem and leaves of the wheat plant, as 
indeed of all the cerealia or grain plants, differ from 
the other grasses in containing a much greater amount 
of woody fibre, often amounting, when ripe, to three- 
fourths of the whole weight. It is largely composed 
of silex, a hard, flinty substance, which gives the stem 
its firmness and solidity, and especially its hard and 
glossy outside coating. 

Were it not for this hard stem, 

it could not support its weight of 

%/ ears or grain. It would lodg-e in 

!.fe every wind, and be comparatively 

worthless. 

The cultivated plants belonging 
to the genus Triticum are annu- 
als, the others are wild perennial 
grasses. 

The root of wheat is peculiarly 
adapted to withstand the severity 
of the winter's cold. The main or 
seminal root is pushed out at the 
same time with the germ, and that 
nourishes the plant in its early 
growth. As many as seventy-two 
stalks have been known to rise 
from a single root. 

The grain is composed to a 

great extent of starch, with a 

large percentage of gluten and 

other nitrogenous bodies. 

The two prominent and most striking varieties of 





Fig. 130. 
Hungarian Wheat. 



Fig. 131. 



160 WINTER AND SPRING WHEAT. 

wheat are known as winter Triticura hyhernum, and 
spring Triticum cestivum. 

Winter wheat lias generally a larger and plumper 
ear, smooth and awnless, and a stronger, harder, and 
more erect stem. It is sown in autumn, and soon 
germinates, remaining green through the winter, and 
starting up into a vigorous growth early the next 
spring, arriving at maturity in the following summer. 
Some of the varieties of winter wheat are shown in 
Figs. 130 and 131. 

There are many sub-varieties of winter wheat, which 
originated, probably, from influences of locality, soil, and 
culture. The two prominent groups are best known as 
the red and white wheats. The red is usually the more 
hardy, and is covered with a thicker and rougher coat- 
ing, which adapts it better to high northern latitudes, 
and severe Avinters. 

The amount of glutinous and silicious substances 
(bran) is said to be greatest in the red. and least in the 
white, while it is medium in the amber. 

Spring wheat is less hardy than winter; the stem is 
more slender and dehcate, the ear smaller and thinner, 
and rather more drooping, and adorned with long awns 
or beards. It produces, ordinarily, less than the winter 
wheat, while the quality of its flour is less esteemed ; 
but still it often becomes profitable for cultivation, and 
is a valuable variety. 

Le Couteur makes the following classification of the 
endless varieties and sub-varieties into which both the 
summer and winter wheats have passed. 

BEARDLESS OR WINTER WHEATS. 

1 AVhite AVheats, smooth chaffed. 

2 " " velvet husked. 

3 Red " smooth chaffed. 



VARIETIES OF WHEAT. 161 

4 Red Wheats, velvet husked. 

5 Yellow *' smooth chatted. 

6 " " velvet husked. 

7 Liver " smooth chaifed. 

8 " " velvet husked. 

BEARDED OR SPRING WHEATS. 

1 White Spring Wheat. 

2 Red Spring Wheat. 

3 Yellow Spring Wheat. 

4 Hoary Spring Wheat. 

Among the varieties of winter wheat which have 
been cultivated to any extent in this country may be 
mentioned the common White Flint, improved White 
Flint, the White Provence Wheat, the Wheatland Red, 
the Tuscan Bald, the Skinner Wheat, the Golden Drop, 
the White Blue Straw, known in Ohio as the Blue 
Stem, the Aguira Wheat, the Verplanck, the Canada 
Flint, the Bearded Mediterranean, Old White Flint, the 
Club, the Genesee, the Egj^ptian, the Old Red Chaff, 
the Quaker Wheat, the Yellow Bearded, the Kentucky 
Red, the Bald Mediterranean, the Red Blue Stem, and 
innumerable others. 

Among the spring varieties may be mentioned the 
Italian Spring Wheat, Tea Wheat, or Siberian Wheat, 
Black Sea Wheat, Black Bearded and Red Bearded 
Wheats, the Scotch Wheat, Talavera Wheat, the Black 
Tea Wheat, the Canada Club, the Fife, &c. 

All varieties may be easily modified by cultivation. 
The bearded may become beardless, and vice versa ; the 
red may pass into the white varieties, and the winter is 
easily modified so as finally to become a spring wheat. 

A variety known as spelt, or spelt wheat (Triticum 
spelta), is shown in Fig. 132, while a summer variety is 
shown in Fig. 133, Egyptian wheat in Fig. 134, and 
one-seeded -wheat {Triticum monococcum), or St. Peter's 
corn, in Fig. 135. 
14* 



162 



SUMMER WHEATS. 



As already intimated, wheat is composed chiefly of 
starch, the percentage of which varies from fifty to 

seventy per cent. ; of gluten, 
the percentage of which varies 
from ten to twenty ; and of 
from three to five per cent, of 
fatty matters. The best flour 
contains, therefore, seventy 
pounds of starch, or upwards, 
in every hundred pounds, and 
the balance is made up of glu- 





Fig 133. 



risr. 104. 



lis- 123. 



CULTURE. — BARLEY. 163 

ten, sugar, water, and oil. Starch is the most important 
ingredient for the nourishment of the young plant or 
the germ. 

Wlieat contains a greater amount of nourishment, 
also, for the human system, than the same quantity of 
ahnost any other vegetable product. A bushel of wheat, 
or sixty pounds, when ground into flour, will make 
about forty-seven pounds of what may be called bread- 
flour ; about four and a quarter pounds of fine Pollard, 
or mixture of bran and meal ; about four pounds of 
coarse Pollard, two and three-fourths pounds of bran, 
and there will be a loss, on an average, of about two 
pounds, making in all sixty pounds. 

There are two methods of cultivation in general prac- 
tice in this country, the old method of sowing broad- 
cast, and the drill system, which is the more economi- 
cal of the two, as it effects a saving of seed, and greater 
security against what is called heaving out by the frost, 
while the crop is usually greater, particularly if the 
plant is cultivated, duiing its growth, as it may be, 
between the drills. Very perfect drilling machines are 
now in use in wheat-growing sections of the country. 

Barley. 

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) has generally a more slen- 
der seed than that of wheat, and a firmer and rougher 
covering of husk or chaff. It has also a longer awn, or 
beard. Its amount of starch is about the same as that 
of wheat, some analyses showing it to be greater, and 
others less ; but its amount of gluten is less. It con- 
tains, also, several per cent., ordinarily from six to 
eight, of uncombined saccharine matter. 

The average length of a grain of barley, or the mean 
of many thousand measurements, is .345 of an inch, or 
not far from a third of an inch, from which was derived 



164 ORIGIN OF BARLEY. 

the barleycorn of the old linear measure. The average 
weight per bushel is between fifty and fifty-one pounds. 

The native country of barley is as unknown as that 
of wheat. There is a tradition among the Egyptians 
that barley was the first grain used by mankind, and 
they trace its introduction, as a cultivated plant, to the 
goddess Isis. It was cultivated in Syria more than three 
thousand years ago ; for we read that Ruth gleaned in 
the field till evening, and beat out what she had, and it 
was about an ephah of barley, and she gleaned till the 
end of the barley harvest. 

The grasses referred by botanists to the same genus as 
barley have a strong outward resemblance to it; but 
none of them, by any degree of culture, can be improved 
so as to be of service as food, so that they give no in- 
dication as to the origin of the grain in question ; and 
as we know it to have been used in Syria from a very 
remote antiquity, it is natural to infer that it originated 
in that country. There are four distinct species of 
barley, and from these have arisen a great number of 
varieties. 

The common barley, or the Hordeum vulgare, Fig. 
136, is a spring species, and this is the kind most 
commonly cultivated. It is six-rowed, the rows being 
slightly irregular, the intermediate ones being a little 
the most prominent. This is extensively cultivated in 
Germany. It has passed into a six regular rowed 
variet}-, which is a winter grain of a somewhat shorter 
ear, and shells more easily when ripe, endures more 
severe colds, and may be cultivated as a winter variety. 
It is shown in Fig. 137. 

Two-rowed Barley {Hordeum distickum), Fig. 138, 
is sometimes cultivated in this country. Its spike, or 
ear, is long and somewhat compressed, and the grain is 
of a very good quality. It is sown in spring. 



SIX-EOWED BARLEY. 



165 



There is also the true winter barley, the Hordeum 
hexasticum, or square barley, and the Hordeum zeocriton, 




Fig. 136. Common Barley. 



Fig. 137. 



166 



GIIOWTH OP BARLEY. 






or sprat barley. A beardless variety, the 
Hordeum trifurcatum, is also known to 
some extent, but possesses no advantages 
I for cultivation, that I am aware of, over the 
more common varieties. 

Barley is probably cultivated over a 
wider range of climate and latitude than 
any other cereal. In warm climates it 
passes through its various phases of vege- 
tation with astonishing rapidity, so as to 
escape the droughts of summer ; and in 
cold climates its growth is even more rapid, 
coming to maturity before the frosts of 
autumn. Linnaeus found it growing m 
Lulean Lapland, in latitude 67° 20', where 
the harvest began on the 28th July, the 
seed having been sown only six weeks. 

In the warmer climate of Spain, two 
crops may be taken from the same ground, 
by sowing in autumn and the following 
summer. In this respect, therefore, barley 
has the advantage of being more important 
to mankind than even wheat. 

Barley succeeds best in soils of medium 
consistency, but accommodates itself to 
almost every variety of soil, except very 
moist ones. It endures a drought better 
than excessive moisture, but it requires as 
deep and good tillage as wheat, and may 
take the same place in the rotation as 
winter wheat or rye. It takes from the 
soil a larger percentage of mineral sub- 
stances, as potash, lime, magnesia, phos- 
phoric acid, &c., than wheat or rye, and 
these substances should, in some form, be restored to 



USES OP BARLEY. 167 

tlie soil that is repeatedly cropped with barley. Liquid 
manures are extensively used for it in Flanders, and 
they promote its rapidity of vegetation ; but too stimu- 
lating animal manures cause it to run too much to 

stalk. 

'• When the oak puts on his gosling gray, 
'Tis time to sow barley night and day," 

is an old maxim, handed down to the Norfolk farmers, 
from which it appears that experience had shown the 
first budding of the oak, previous to the expansion of 
its leaves, as the best time to sow this grain. The most 
extensive use of barley at the present time is for brew- 
ing and distilling, a use of it which dates back to the 
remotest antiquity, and which is said to be due to the 
monks. 

The best and heaviest grain is desirable. The com- 
position of barle}^ and the malt made from it are essen- 
tially different, and may be stated as follows : 

Barley. Malt. 

Gluten, .... 3 1 

Sugar, .... 4 16 

Gum, 5 14 

Starch, .... 88 69 

100 Too 

The quantity of barley annually consumed for brew- 
ing in Great Britain exceeds thirty millions of bushels, 
and from this more than eight millions of barrels of 
beer are yearly brewed. 

Barley is extensively used in eastern countries as 
food for horses, but has never gained so great favor in 
cooler latitudes. It is a less heating feed than the oat. 

Barley ought to be reaped before it becomes dead 
ripe. In this state the husk is thick, making it more 
difficult grinding. The approaching period of ripeness 
is indicated by the yellowness of the straw and the 
drooping of the heads. 



168 RYE. — CHARACTERISTICS. 

Barley contains, on an average, about sixty-five per 
cent, of nutritive matter, while wheat contains about 
seventy-eight per cent. According to the elaborate 
experiments of Thaer, the comparative value of wheat, 
barley, and oats, for feeding stock, may be represented 
by 47, 32, and 24, taking the same quantity of each. 
The soil on which these grains are cultivated has, no 
doubt, much to do with their composition. 

Rye. 

Rye [Secede cereale) is said to be a native of the 
island of Candia. It is a plant intermediate between 
wheat and barley. 

The general characteristics have been stated in the 
preceding chapter. It is so nearly allied to the genus 
Tritlcum, that it is not always easily distinguished from 
it. There are four prominent species, known to bota- 
nists as Secale villosum, or tufted r}'e ; Secede orientale, 
or dwarf oriental rye ; Secede creticum, or Cretan rye, 
and Secale cereede; the last benig the only one cultivated 
in this country for its seeds. 

It is characterized by long-bearded spikes, or ears, and 
a tall and slender stem. The glumes of the calyx are 
toothed on the edges ; the root is fibrous and annual ; 
the stem jointed, somewhat branched at the bottom, and 
smooth. The spike is terminal, solitary, erect, and 
often three or four inches long; the awns straight, 
rough, erect, and four or five times the length of the 
glumes. The plant is shown in Fig. 139. 

Of this there are two prominent varieties, known to 
farmers as winter and spring rye, and due to culture 
mainly. 

The variety most commonly cultivated, and which is 
represented in the figure, is known as winter rye ; and 
this is to be preferred, whether it is sown for the grain 



CULTURE OF RYE. 



169 



Ih 



or the straw. Its characters as a variety are so little 

fixed that it may be sown at almost any season of the 

year, with the hope of getting a crop, in 

the proper season for it, either of grain 

or green fodder. It is far less sensitive 

to the cold of winter than wheat, while 

its vegetation is more rapid, so that in 

high northern latitudes it is often a 

more important crop. 

The cultivation of rye does not essen- 
tially differ from the other grains. It is 
usually sown broadcast on a well-culti- 
vated soil, but will succeed on lighter 
soils than Avheat, and does not require 
so much moisture as either wheat or 
barley. Wheat, in particular, must have 
a considerable mixture of clay, or what 
would be called a clay loam, or a clay 
subsoil, to arrive at its full perfection as 
a remunerative crop. Barley needs con- 
siderable moisture in the soil, or in fre- 
quent rains. But rye requires less 
moisture than either, and will do very 
well on light, sandy loams, and in a com- 
paratively dry season. 

The grain or kernel of rye is smaller 
in size than that of wheat. It tillers 
much less in growing, and its straw, or 
stem, when ripe, is very rich in silica ; 
more so than that of wheat, while it con- rig. 139. Rye. 
tains a larger percentage of potash and phosphoric 
acid than the latter. Manures containing a large 
amount of phosphates and silicates of potash would 
seem, therefore, to be highly important for rye, as, 
indeed, they are for all the cereals. 
15 



170 CULTURE. — QUALITIES. 

Rye straw, though of little value for fodder, is in 
great demand for litter, and for various mechanical pur- 
poses, and commands a high price, varying in the Bos- 
ton market from ten to filteen dollars a ton. But it is 
as a fodder-plant, and particularly for soiling in early 
spring, that it is now extensively used and highly prized. 
For this purpose it is sown in the autumn, the earlier 
the better, after other crops come from the ground, and 
in early spring it starts up luxuriantly, and is fit to be 
fed off by sheep and lambs, or to cut at the height of 
six inches. At this stage of its growth, and before it 
begins to spindle, it is succulent and nutritious ; but, as 
soon as this period of its growth is reached, it loses its 
succulent qualities, and is no longer relished by stock. 

B,ye has sometimes been parched and ground as a 
substitute for coffee ; but it wants the grateful aroma 
and the stimulating properties of the favorite Mocha 
bean, and it can hardly come into general use. 

Rye sown with wheat produces a mixed crop known 
as meslin, which forms one of the healthiest kinds of 
bread that it is possible to make, and practical millers 
much prefer wheat and rye grown together to any mix- 
ture of the two that have been grown separately. The 
comparative value of wheat and rye is about as 71 to 
64, according to the most accurate experiments and 
analyses. 

But rye may be cultivated longer on the same soil 
than almost any other crop of the farm. This is a fact 
which has often been noticed by practical farmers. 

Rye contains a large per cent, of gluten, larger than 
any of the cereals except wheat, while about five per 
cent, of it consists of ready-formed saccharine matter, 
which makes it easily converted into malt, and so into 
beer and other spirits, particularly that known as " Hol- 
lands," which is distilled from rye, flavored with juni- 



ERGOT. — OATS. 171 

per, the Dutch for which is Genever, from which comes 
Geneva^ contracted in Gin. 

Rye is subject to a fatal disease, known as ergot; 
and when attacked with it is often called spurred rye. 
It is most destructive in wet seasons, and is commonly 
ascribed to a fungous growth, the poisonous effects of 
which, when taken into the system of either men or 
animals, were observed as early as 1596. It is, fortu- 
nately, not very prevalent in this country, but some- 
times develops itself in rye, as well as in some of the 
other grasses, as June grass and reed canary grass, and 
in some other species. 

Oats. 

The Oat (Avena sativa) derives its English name from 
a Saxon word signifying to eat; while its generic name, 
avena, comes from a Latin word, signifying to desire, 
from the fact that cattle are fond of it. 

This plant differs considerably, in appearance, from 
either wheat, rye, or barley. It grows in panicles, 
the calyx being two-valved or two-seeded ; tlie seeds 
smooth, and one-awned ; the root annual ; the stem 
growing from two to three feet high. The two glumes, 
or the chaff of the calyx, are nerved, pointed at the 
end, longer than the flower, and unequal. The two 
flowers and seeds in each calyx are alternate, conical in 
shape ; the smaller awnless, the larger furnished with a 
strong, bent awn, of two colors. The branches of the 
panicle are erect when green, but droop as the seed 
ripens, from its weight. 

The only species cultivated for its seeds, the avena 
sativa, has passed into many varieties, such as the Po- 
tato Oat, the Siberian, the Tartarian, the Poland, the 
White, the Black, the Horse-mane Oat, &c. The first is 
undoubtedly one of the very best of these varieties. 



172 



VAEIETIES. — CULTURE. 






L 



being the most productive, and making the best quality 
of meal, tliougii it requires a somewhat richer soil than 
other varieties. It was found 
growing accidentally in a heap 
of manure with some potato- 
plants, and hence its odd name. 
Its grain is large and plump. The 
common oat is seen in Fig. 140. 
For poor lands, the Tartarian 
or the Siberian is said to be pre- 
ferable. The Poland has a thick 
husk and a coarse straAv. The 
white varieties are known by 
many local names, though there 
are but slight differences be- 
tween them. Oats require good 
loamy or stiff soil to produce 
the largest crops, and do best in 
a moist climate or wet season. 
They are generally sown broad- 
cast, and harrowed or rolled in. 
Many farmers are accustomed to 
allow them to stand too long and 
get over-ripened. In this case 
they shell too easily, thus caus- 
ing considerable loss, while the 
straw becomes comparatively 
worthless for feeding purposes. 
As soon as the stem turns yellow 
below the head or panicle, the 
crop should be cut, without delay. 
It has been often remarked by 
farmers that other crops in the 
rotation follow oats better than 



M 



K-r" 



f4- 



. 140. OatSL 



any other grain. 



NUTEITIVE QUALITIES — SEED. 173 

The nutritive qualities of oats are less than those of 
any other grain, taking weight for weight, very rarely 
exceeding, even in the first quality, 75 per cent. ; while 
those of wheat, for instance, often exceed 95 per cent. 
They are used mainly as food for horses in this coun- 
try, the use for any other purpose being comparatively 
limited. In France and Germany the practice of baking 
oats and rye together in loaves as food for horses is 
said to be gaining ground. 

The quantity of oats required to seed an acre prop- 
erly is from three to four bushels. Many farmers over- 
seed, and use from four to six bushels, but without 
reaping in proportion to what they had sown. 

For the purpose of ascertaining, so far as one experi- 
ment could throw light upon it, the requisite quantity 
to seed an acre fully and economically, experiments 
were instituted at the State Farm, in Massachusetts, in 
the spring of 1858, and with the following results. 

The oats were sown broadcast, on the 27th and 28th 
days of April, and harrowed in : 

Lot No. 1 at tlie rate of five bushels to the acre. 
" 2 " " four " " 

" 3 " " three " " " 

" 4 " " two " " " 

The lots consisted of an acre and a half each, and 
were manured with one hundred pounds of plaster of 
Paris per acre, spread broadcast, and harrowed in, ex- 
cept a strip of one acre, running across all the lots, 
which received no plaster. The oats were harvested 
on the 28th of July, and thrashed on the 2d and 3d days 
of September. 

The yield of lot number one was forty-two bushels ; 
of number two, thirty -five bushels and a half; of num- 
ber three, forty bushels ; of number four, twenty-six 
and a half bushels. 
15* 



174 YIELD. — INDIAN CORN. 

The acre that received no plaster yielded twenty and 
a half bushels. The grain weighed twenty-eight pounds 
to the bushel, and was pretty uniform on all the lots, 
that on number one being the lightest, both in grain 
and straw. 

The crop was small, the land being unfavorable for 
oats ; but it will be perceived that the lot seeded 
with three bushels to the acre produced forty bushels, 
while that seeded with five bushels produced only forty- 
two bushels. 

The experiment, though exceedingly unsatisfactory 
in other respects, seems to indicate that the use of 
five or six bushels is more than is needed, and that three 
or four are sufficient, especially on land that is well 
cultivated and prepared. 

A good yield of oats is from sixty to seventy-five 
bushels per acre, and this is often obtained without any 
extraordinary culture. 

Indian Corn. 

Indian Corn {Zea mays) was found under cultivation 
by the Indians, on the discovery of the New World, 
and was, unquestionably, of American origin. Its gen- 
eric name was derived from a Greek word, signifying 
to live, and was applied to this plant on account of the 
farinaceous or mealy nature of the seeds. 

Indian corn, or maize, grows with a strong, jointed 
stalk, rising to the height of from five to fifteen feet, 
with large, alternate leaves starting from each joint, as 
shown in Fig. 141. The male or sterile flowers, Fig. 
142, are arranged in a loose, spreading panicle at the 
apex, called the tassel, and the female or fertile flowers, 
Fig. 143, on the side. 

Each plant bears from one to four or five ears, Fig. 
144. As many as six or eight have sometimes been 



INDIAN COEN. 



175 



found on some of the varieties. The ears are cylin- 




Fig. 145. 



Fig. 142. "Iffl Fig. 143.. 

Fig. 141. Indian Corn. 



176 DESCRIPTION — USES. 

drical, and enclosed in a covering of leaves, in the form 
of sheaths, called the husks. The ears consist of the 
fruit or grain, arranged in rows around a pithy cylinder, 
called the cob. The number of rows varies from eight 
to thirty-six, but does not usually exceed fourteen or 
sixteen, while the number of grains in a row is from 
thirty to forty. These seeds are rounded on the sur- 
face, and compressed on the sides, and from the germ or 
eye of each a silky or thread-like style or filament of a 
bright-green color extends along the inner side of the 
husks, and hangs down, forming together a thick cluster, 
called the silks. These receive the pollen or farina as 
it falls from the staminate flowers of the tassel. The 
seed could not attain perfection unless it received this 
pollen by means of its silk, a fact which can be easily 
proved by cutting off the tassels of all the stalks grow- 
ing together, before their flowers develop. Indian corn 
is an annual, and, owing to the mealy quality of its 
seeds, is one of the most important of all the cultivated 
plants. 

There is but one species referred by botanists to this 
genus, zea ; but of this, there are innumerable varieties, 
due to climate, soil, and culture. These varieties are 
distinguished by the size and color of the grains, the 
number of rows on the ear, the length of time required 
to come to maturity, and other characteristics, which 
can hardly be said to be fixed and permanent, as they 
are easily modified by culture. 

Indian corn is extensively used as human food, and 
for feeding and fattening domestic animals, and holds the 
highest rank among the cereals, whether its nutritive 
qualities, or the produce and return for the seed sown, 
or its range of climate, be regarded. 

Cotton is sometimes said to be king; but if, in Amer- 
ican agriculture, the genius of which is truly republican, 



COMPOSITION — VARIETIES. 177 

where all the great staples form so important a part in 
promoting the national prosperity, one can be said to 
hold preeminence over the rest, the palm must be yielded 
to the golden corn, rearing its imperial form and tasselled 
banner high over all its compeers, and founding its 
claim to royalty, as the prince of cereals, by the universal- 
ity of its uses, and its intrinsic importance to mankind. 

Its flexibility of organization is truly wonderful ; 
for while it grows best on moist, rich soils, and with 
great heats, there are varieties of it which can be raised 
at the heiglit of more than eight thousand feet above the 
level of the sea. The warmest regions of the torrid 
zone produce it in abundance, while the short summers 
of Canada have varieties adapted to them, and arrive at 
maturity with almost the same certainty as those under 
a hotter sun, and a longer season. 

According to some analyses, Indian corn furnishes in 
its composition 88.43 per cent, of fat-forming principles, 
gum, &c.; 1.26 per cent, of flesh-forming principles, 9 
per cent, of water, and 1.31 per cent, of salts. Its 
chemical composition shows it to be among the most 
fattening of the cereals, and this is also the result of 
experience. For our domestic animals, therefore, and 
as a means of raising and fattening them, Indian corn 
may justly be regarded as superior even to wheat. 

No part of the plant is necessarily lost, or thrown 
aside as worthless. Even the cob is ground, and, for 
some purposes of feeding to stock, it is very valuable ; 
while, if it were necessary, the plant would supply us 
with a large amount, and a very good quality, of sugar. 

As already intimated, the varieties of Indian corn are 
innumerable. Among the favorites for high latitudes 
in this country, as in Maine, New Hampshire, &c., may 
be mentioned the Early Canada, the old Eight-rowed 
Yellow, and with some the King Philip, or Brown corn, 



178 ROCKY MOUNTAIN CORN. 

though the latter has not met the expectations raised 
for it by the United States Patent Office. A variety 
known as the Smutty White is also largely cultivated in 
some sections of Massachusetts, and its yield is greater 
than most others adapted to northern latitudes. The 
Turkish White Flint, the Early Button, Peabody's Pro- 
lific, the Golden Sioux, the Kentucky Field, the Wyan- 
dotte, the White Gourd-seed, the Tuscarora, and many 
others, might be named. 

In addition to these prominent varieties, which are, 
in some sections, cultivated as field crops, might be 
mentioned several well-marked varieties of Sweet corn, 
such as StowelPs Evergreen, the Asylum, the Old Col- 
ony sweet corn, and Darling's Early, to say nothing of 
several other favorite early varieties. 

There is a variety known as the Rocky Mountain 
corn, the kernels of which are each covered with 
glumes or husks, which they lose, on cultivation, in the 
course of three or four years. In addition to these, 
many small-eared varieties used for parching, and known 
as Pop corn, are cultivated to a limited extent in all parts 
of the country, and among them Rice corn and Calico 
corn. 

The culture of Indian corn is simple, and easily un- 
derstood. It requires a deep, rich, and mellow soil, 
thoroughly tilled. After ploughing, the land is care- 
fully marked off' in rows from three to four feet apart 
each way, according as the variety is large or small, 
when four or five kernels are dropped in a hill, either 
by hand or machine, and covered to the depth of from 
one to two inches. After the corn is up, it is cultivated 
with the horse hoe or plough, to keep it free from weeds. 
It is sometimes hilled at the last hoeing ; at others the 
ground is left level, which is thought to be the best. 

When Indian corn is planted as a fodder crop, or to 



SELECTION OF SEED. 



179 



be cut and fed out green, it is sown in drills instead of 
hills. For this use it is one of the most valuable and 
important plants we have. 

Most of the operations in the culture and harvesting 
of Indian corn may be performed by machinery. Husk- 
ing, one of the slowest and most irksome processes con- 
nected with it, may now be well and quickly done, at a 
great saving of time and labor over the old methods. 

In selecting corn for seed, the tips of the ears are 
thouglit to be best, and that part near the butt end of 
the ear next in value. The common practice in New 
England, for many years, has been to use only the seeds 
which grow on the middle of the ear. 

The experiment of planting seed taken from different 
parts of the ear has been repeatedly tried, and the 
result has almost uniformly been better from that taken 
near the tips, however contrary it may be to the theo- 
ries hitherto received, in regard to the full and com- 
plete development and perfection of seed. One farmer, 
within my knowledge, followed up his experiment for 




Fig. 146. 

ten years, planting only the corn from the small end of 
the ears, choosing such as were well filled out, then 
selecting only that fi'om the middle of the ears, and 
then only that from the large ends. After ten years, 
he found that in seven years of the ten the crop from 
the small ends was the largest and best. 



180 STATE FARM EXPERIMENT. 

A similar experiment was tried at the State Farm of 
Massachusetts, in the summer of 1858. 

Two acres were planted, on a light soil, well adapted 
to Indian corn, manured with seven and a half cords 
of barn-yard manure to the acre, spread broadcast and 
cultivated in, and ten bushels of leached ashes and one 
hundred pounds of gypsum to the acre, put in the hill. 
The corn was planted on the third day of June, in alter- 
nate rows, with seed taken from the large ends, middles, 
and tips, of the ears. It was hoed three times in the 
course of the season. One acre was harvested and 
husked Avith care, and the result noted on the 19th 
of October. The rows planted with seed taken from the 
large ends of the ears produced seven hundred and 
thirty-eight pounds of sound and seventy-seven pounds 
of soft corn on the ear, and one thousand three hun- 
dred and sixty pounds of stover. That from seed 
taken from the middle of the ears produced six hundred 
and sixty-three pounds of sound corn in the ear, and 
one thousand two hundred and ninety pounds of stover. 
That from seed taken from the small ends produced 
seven hundred and forty-seven pounds of sound and 
fifty-three pounds of soft corn, and one thousand three 
hundred and twenty pounds of stover. Comparing the 
crops grown on this acre, and estimating the sound corn 
at one, and the soft corn at half a cent per pound, 
and the stover at seven dollars the ton, — which is about 
its market value in that vicinity, — it would appear that 
the value of the crop the seed for which was taken 
from the large ends of the ear was as follows : 

738 pounds of sound corn, (S) 1 cent per pound, $7.38 

77 " soft corn, r® ^ " " " .39 

1360 " stover, (® 7 dollars per ton, 4.76 

$12.53 



COMPARATIVE RESULTS. 181 

Value of the product of the rows planted with seed 
taken from the middle of the ears : 

663 pounds sound corn, $6.63 

164 " soft corn, .82 

1200 '• stover, (® 7 dollars per ton, 4.51 

$11.96 

Value of the product of the rows planted with seed 
taken from the tips of the ears : 

747 pounds sound corn, $7.47 

53 " soft corn, .27 

1320 " stover, 4.62 

$12.36 

In this case, the seed from the butts produced the 
most, that from the tips the next, and that from the 
middles the least, in money value ; but the tips produced 
the most, the butts the next, and the middles the least, 
sound corn ; while the middles produced the most, the 
butts the next, and the tips the least, soft corn. 

One experiment, as already intimated, does not prove 
a point in agriculture, however fair it maybe, — and 
the above was eminently so, so far as uniformity of soil 
and manuring was concerned, — and this point is worthy 
of more careful trial and investigation by practical 
farmers. 

The chief objection to sowing Indian corn to be cut 
np green and dried for winter fodder is to be found in 
the difficulty with which it is cured, on account of the 
lateness of the season at which it arrives at the most 
productive stage of its growth, and the extreme suc- 
culency of its large and juicy leaves. But when prop- 
erly cured it affords a very large amount of nutritious 
feed, M^hich is relished by all kinds of stock, and is 
especially valuable for feeding to young animals; and, 
notwithstanding the objection often made to it, it is 
16 



182 DEIED CORN AS FODDER. 

worthy of a more extended cultivation for this pur- 
pose. 

The amount of dried fodder which may be obtained 
from it, when properly cultivated, is truly astonishing. 
Perhaps the process of kiln-drying might be introduced 
with advantage. It is, at least, worthy of a careful 
trial, wherever facilities for it can be had at a reason- 
able expense. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE ARTIFICIAL GRASSES; OR, PLANTS CULTI- 
VATED AND USED LIKE GRASSES, THOUGH NOT 
BELONGING TO THE GRASS FAMILY. 

We have given our whole attention, in the preceding 
pages, to what are strictly and properly called the nat- 
ural or the true grasses. We now come to consider, very 
briefly, another class of plants, called artificial grasses. 

Curious as it may appear, the artificial grasses were 
cultivated first, in point of time, in England ; the red 
clover having been introduced and grown there about 
the year 1633; sainfoin, 1651; yellow clover in 1659, 
and white clover about the year 1700; while not one 
of the natural grasses was cultivated till nearly a cen- 
tury later, with the exception of perennial rye grass, 
first cultivated in 1677. 

About the year 1759 the custom of sowing the chaff 
and seed dropped from the hay-stack along with the 
artificial grasses and r3^e grass began, and soon after, — 
between 1761 and 1764, — the cultivation of Timothy 
and orchard grass was introduced from America. The 
culture of the bent grasses, the sheep's fescue, and the 
crested dog's tail, began soon after. In 1766 the Lon- 
don Society for the Encouragement of Arts offered 
premiums for the collection of the seeds of some of the 
grasses then found growing wild, such as the meadow 
foxtail, the meadow fescue, the sweet-scented vernal 

(183) 



184 EARLY CULTURE OF GRASSES, 

grass, &c. ; and in 1769 the same society offered addi- 
tional rewards for further investigations and experi- 
ments on the culture and comparative value of the 
natural grasses. But little was done, however, till the 
experiments at Woburn Abbey, in 1824. 

In this country the extensive and practical cultiva- 
tion of the natural grasses seems to have been com- 
menced at an earlier date than in England ; for Jared 
Eliot, writing about the year 1750, speaks of the cul- 
ture of Timothy as having been adopted some time 
previously. Indeed, the necessities of our rigorous 
climate compelled attention to this branch of husbandry 
soon after the establishment of the Plymouth colony, in 
the year 1620. 

The climate of England, on the other hand, admitted 
a greater degree of reliance on the wild luxuriance of 
nature, while the culture of the grains gave a suffi- 
ciency of coarse straw, which formed the winter sus- 
tenance for stock till the modern improvements in 
farming introduced a better system. This mode of 
management was brouglit over to this country by the 
first settler:*, and attempted for some time; the few cat- 
tle they liad being kept on poor and miserable swale hay, 
or often upon the hay obtained from the salt marshes. 
The death of their cattle from starvation and exposure 
was of very common occurrence, and not unfrequently 
the farmer lost his entire herd. The treatment of ani- 
mals now as they were treated during the whole of the 
first century of the colony, would be an evidence of 
inhumanity which could scarcely be tolerated in any 
community. This treatment was in part, at least, owing 
to the poverty of the settlers, and more, probably, to 
the ideas and practices in which they had been early 
trained in a different climate. Fortunately for the most 
useful of our domestic animals, a more enlightened pol- 



RED CLOVER — DESCRIPTION. 185 

icy now governs the mass of men, and this policy has 
led to greater care and attention to the cultivation of 
the grasses. 

The culture of the natural grasses takes the prece- 
dence, therefore, in this country, in point of time, from 
the causes already indicated ; but the minds of men are 
so influenced by the routine of ordinary practice, that 
the introduction of clover in the early part of the last 
century met with great prejudice, which is noAV nearly, 
if not quite extinct. 

Red Clover {Trifolium pratense), though not in- 
cluded in the family of grasses, is not only exten- 
sively cultivated, but is found to be one of the most 
valuable and economical forage plants. It belongs to 
the pulse family, or Leguminosce, which includes the 
larger portion of forage plants called artificial grasses, 
in distinction from the graminese, the only true, and 
often called the natural grasses. The generic name, 
trefoil, or trifolium, is derived from the Latin ^-es, three, 
and /bZm??!, a leaf; and the genus can generall}' be very 
readily distinguished by the number and arrangement 
of its leaves in three leaflets, and flowers in den^e 
oblong or globular heads. 

The stems of red clover are ascending, somewhat 
hair}'^ ; leaflets oval or obovate, often notched at the 
end, and marked on the upper side with a pale spot ; 
heads ovate, and set directly upon the stalk, instead 
of upon branches. This species is regarded as by far 
the most important of the whole genus for the practi- 
cal purposes of agriculture. It has passed into a num- 
ber of varieties, one of which is biennial, another peren- 
nial ; the latter by long cultivation becoming biennial, 
while the former — as is true of most biennial, and 
many annual plants — assumes, to some extent, the 
16* 



186 



ITS EARLY INTRODUCTION. 



character of a perennial, and can be made to last three 
or four years, or even more, by simply preventing it 
from running to seed. This plant is seen in Fig. 147, 
its leaf is shown in Fig. 148, and its fruit magnified in 
Fig. 149. 



Fig. 149. 





Fig. 147. Red Clover. 



Fig 148. 



The introduction of clover into England, it is often 
said, produced an entire revolution in her agriculture ; 
and, indeed, when we consider how important a part it 
plays in our own system of farming, we can with diffi- 
culty imagine how our ancestors ever got on at all in 
farming without it. Be this as it ma}", it is certain that 
it led to many of the most important improvements in 
the rotation of ci'ops. Clover is very properly regarded 
as a fertilizer ol' the soil. The action of its long and 
powerful tap-roots is not only mechanical, — loosening 
the soil, and admitting the air, — but also chemical, serv- 



COMPOSITION — CULTURE. 187 

ino" to fix the gases important to enrich the earth, and 
when these roots decay they add largely to that black 
mass of matter we call the soil. It serves, also, by its 
luxuriant foliage, to destroy annual weeds which would 
spring up on newly-seeded land, especially after imper- 
fect cultivation. But one of the most valuable uses of 
it, and one too often overlooked, is to shade the surface 
of the soil, and thereby increase its fertihty. 

Clover is emphatically a lime plant, and the soils best 
adapted to it are tenacious or stiff loams. The careful 
analysis of Professor Way found no less than 35.39 per 
cent, of lime in the inorganic constituents of red clover, 
and that of Boussingault 32,80 per cent., while intelli- 
gent practice has arrived so nearly at the same conclu- 
sion, that the term " clover soils " is now almost univer- 
sally used to indicate a tenacious loam, containing more 
or less of lime or clay in its composition. 

Another great advantage in favor of the cultivation of 
clover, consists in its rapid growth, But a few months 
elapse from the sowing of the seed before it yields, 
ordinarily, an abundant and nutritious crop, relished by 
cattle of all kinds. 

Clover-seed should always be sown in the spring of 
the year, in the climate of New England. It is often 
sown upon the late snows of March or April, and soon 
finds its way down to the soil, where, aided by the 
moisture of early spring, it quickly germinates, and rap- 
idly shoots up its leaf-stalks. 

An accurate and valuable analysis of this plant, both 
in its green and dry state, will be found in a tabular 
form on a subsequent page ; while a more extended 
notice of its culture and the mode of curing it, with 
the results of practical experience as to its value, will 
also be given in its proper place. 



188 WHITE CLOVER. 

White Clover, Dutch Clover, Honeysuckle i^Tri- 
folium repens), is equally common with the lud, and 
oilen forms a very considerable portion of the sward 
or turf of pastures and fields of a tenacious and moist 
soil. Its stems are spreading, slender, and creeping ; 




Fig. 160. White Clover. Fig. 151, 

leaves inversely heart-shaped ; flower-heads small, white ; 
pods four-seeded ; root perennial. Flowers from May 
to September. This plant is shown in Fig. 150. A 
magnified flower is seen in Fig. 151. 

White clover is widely diffused over this country and 
all the countries of Europe. It is indigenous probably 
both to England and America. When first cultivated 
from seed collected from wild plants, at the beginning 
of the last century, it was recorded of a farmer that he 
had " sowed the wild white clover which holds the 
ground and decays not." Its chief value is as a pas- 
ture grass, and it is as valuable for that purpose as the 
red clover is for hay or for soiling, though there are 
some who place a low estimate upon it. 

It easily accommodates itself to a great variety of 
soils, but grows most luxuriantly in moist grounds and 
moist or wet seasons. Indeed, it depends so much 
upon a general distribution of rains through the season, 
that when they are sufficiently abundant it comes in 



cow GRASS. — LUCERNE. 189 

profusely even where it was not observed in other 
years, and hence such seasons pass under the term of 
" clover years." It is not, apparently, so much relished 
by stock as from its sweetness we should be led to 
expect ; but it is, on the whole, to be cherished for per- 
manent pastures, and improved, as it undoubtedly may 
be, by a proper selection and culture of varieties. For 
an accurate analysis of this plant, the reader is referred 
to a subsequent page. 

Cow Grass, Zigzag Clover, Perennial Clover 
{Trifolium medium), grows on dry hills in Massachu- 
setts, and has been introduced for cultivation in vari- 
ous parts of the country, as a pasture plant. Its stems 
are zigzag, smoothish ; leaflets oblong, entire, spotless ; 
heads mostly stalked ; flower purple, and larger than in 
red clover. 

Alsyke, or Swedish Clover {Trifolium lujhridum), 
has also been introduced for cultivation 6n moist, strong 
soils, but with what success I am not informed. It is 
said to continue in the soil for many years, from its own 
seeds, if left to mature. 

Suckling Red Clover (I^ri/bZmm/Zt/brme) has also 
been introduced and recommended for cultivation, but 
has not come into general culture. 

Lucerne, Alfalfa (3Iedicago sativa), is shown in 
Fig. 152. Leguminous plants of the genus Medicago 
have been known and cultivated from time immemo- 
rial. This particular species, lucerne, was brought from 
Media to Greece, in the time of Darius, about five hun- 
dred years before Christ, and its cultivation afterwards 
extended among the Romans, and through them to the 
south of France, where it has ever since continued to 
be a favorite forage plant. It does not endure a climate 
as severe as red clover, requiring greater heat and sun- 



190 



HABIT OF GROWTH. 



light; but, in a latitude equally suited to both plants, it 
would, perhaps, be somewhat difficult to say which 
should have the preference. In some respects it is 
decidedly superior, as in being perennial, and conse- 
quently remaining long in the soil I have seen fine 
specimens of it, where the seed was sown in 1824, still 
maintaining its vigorous hold of the soil, and growing 
with remarkable luxuriance. The crop of lucerne is as 
abundant as red clover, and is equally well relished by 
cattle, both green and dry. Its yield of green fodder 
continues later in the season than that of red clover. 





Fig. 154. 






Fig. 152. Lucerne. 



Fig. 153. 



Lucerne sends down its tap roots in mellow soils to 
enormous depths, having been found in sandy soils thir- 
teen feet in length. The leaflets are in threes, obovate, 



CULTURE OF LUCERNE. lOl 

oblong, toothed ; the jflowers pale-blue, violet, or purple, 
shaped as in Fig. 153 ; the fruit in downy pods, having 
two or three twirls, as in Fig. 154. 

Lucerne is cultivated in Chili, and grows wild in the 
utmost luxuriance in the pampas of Buenos Ayres, 
where it is called alfalfa, which is simply the common 
lucerne, slightly modified by climate, and may be re. 
garded as a variety. 

The cultivation of lucerne is somewhat more difficult 
than that of clover for the first year, requiring a soil 
thoroughly mellowed, and prepared by clean and care- 
ful tillage ; and the want of proper attention on this 
point has led to partial failures in the attempts to raise 
it in this country. It suffers and languishes in compact 
clay soils, and does not flourish in light soils lying over 
an impermeable subsoil, which prevents the water from 
running off". It will never succeed well on thin soils. 
But in a permeable subsoil, consisting of loam, or sand, 
or gravel, its roots can penetrate to great depths ; and, 
being nearly destitute of lateral shoots, provided with 
numerous fibrous rootlets, or radical ofif-shoots, imbibe 
their moisture and nutriment in layers of soil far below 
the average of other plants. In this respect it differs 
materially from clover. 

For lucerne, a suitable subsoil is of the utmost con- 
sequence. For the short-lived red clover, a suitable 
surface soil is more important ; a want of care and deep 
tillage, especially a neglect to break through and loosen 
up the hard-pan wherever it exists, will inevitably lead 
to failure with lucerne. But, when the soil is suitable, 
it will produce good and very profitable crops for from 
five to ten or twelve years, and, of course, it does not 
belong in the system of short rotations. 

But, notwithstanding the large quantity of succulent 
and nutritious forage it produces, its effect is to ameli- 



192 ENRICHING THE SOIL. 

orate and improve the soil, rather than to exhaust it. 
This apparent anomaly is explained by the fact that all 
leguminous, broad-leaved plants derive a large propor- 
tion of their nutritive materials from the atmosphere, 
and that a vast quantity of roots are left to decay in 
the soil when it is at last broken up, varying, of course, 
with the length of time the plant continues in the soil, 
while the luxuriant foliage serves to shade the soil, and 
thus to increase its fertility. Much of this rich foliage 
is scattered and left to decay, as is the case with all 
similar plants at the time of harvesting, and the growth 
of the aftermath is also usually very considerable. The 
fact that it actually increases the fertility of the soil for 
other plants has often been proved, and may be re- 
garded as fully established. A soil which would bear 
only a medium crop of wheat at first, produced a greatly 
increased quantity after being laid down to lucerne a 
few years, till its roots had enriched the soil. 

Lucerne should not follow immediately after having 
been grown a few years on the same soil, and then 
broken up ; but after the land on which it has been 
grown has been cultivated with some other crop, or 
laid down to the natural grasses a length of time equal 
to that during which it had previously remained in 
lucerne, it can safely be sown again with it. 

The seed of lucerne, when fresh and good, is yellow, 
glossy, and heavy. If the seeds are white, it is an indi- 
cation that they are not ripe. If they are brown, Ave 
may infer that they have been subjected to too strong 
a heat to separate them from their husks. In either of 
these cases, it is not safe to purchase or to rely upon 
them. The same may be said of clover, and it is desir- 
able to try them by a simple method, which will be indi- 
cated hereafter in speaking of the selection of seed. 
As the seeds of lucerne are somewhat larger than 



CUTTING. — HARDINESS. 193 

clover-seed, and the plant tillers less, it is necessary to 
BOW a larger quantity per acre. It may be sown in 
the spring along with grain crops, as clover often is, 
and not a very large crop should be expected the first 
year. 

Lucerne should be cut as soon as it begins to flower, 
or even earlier. If cut much earlier, it is apt to be too 
water}^ and less nutritious, and cures with greater diffi- 
culty ; if later, it becomes coarse and hard, with woody 
fibre, and is less relished by cattle. It may be cut and 
fed green, and is an exceedingly valuable plant for 
soiling cattle, or it may be cut and cured and used like 
clover hay ; but in either case it must be cut before 
blossoming. 

It is thought by many that lucerne will not endure 
our northern climates ; but I do not think it satisfacto- 
rily proved, and I have been somewhat minute in speak- 
ing of it, in the hope of inducing more careful experi- 
ments on a scale and under circumstances sufficient to 
determine its relative value for us. I am the more 
anxious on this point from the fact that I am convinced, 
after much study and observation of our climate, that 
we should direct our labors in farming more with refer- 
ence to the frequent droughts of summer to which we 
are Hable every year, and from which there is no imme- 
diate and practicable escape, except in thorough drain- 
age and deep tillage, which most farmers are unwilling 
to undertake at present. " When properly managed, 
the number of cattle which can be kept in good condi- 
tion on an acre of lucerne, during the whole season, 
exceeds belief. It is no sooner mown than it pushes 
out fresh shoots ; and, wonderful as the growth of 
clover sometimes is, in a field that has been lately 
mown, that of lucerne is far more rapid. Lucerne will 
last for many years, shooting its roots — tough and 
17 



194 SAINFOIN — DESCRIPTION. 

fibrous almost as those of liquorice — downwards for 
nourishment, till they are altogether out of the reach 
of drought. In the dryest and most suUry weatlier, 
when every blade of grass droops for want of moisture, 
lucerne holds up its stem, fresh and green, as in the 
genial spring." 

I am convinced, also, that the failures of attempts to 
cultivate lucerne with us may be ascribed, in very many 
instances, to an improper selection of soils ; but it is 
nevertheless true that our climate is not so well adapted 
to it as that of the south of France ; and experiments 
hereafter, like those already made, may show its culture 
to be wholly impracticable. 

Sainfoin (Hedysarum onobrychis) differs from lucerne 
in many important particulars. It is a leguminous plant, 
with many stems from two to three feet long, straggling, 
tapering, smooth ; leaves in pairs of pointed, oblong 
leaflets, slightly hairy on the under side ; flower-stalks 
higlier than the leaves, ending in a spike of crimson or 
variegated flowers, succeeded by flat, hard pods, toothed 
on the edges and prickly on the sides ; root perennial 
and hard and woody. Flowers in July. It is shown 
in Fig. 155. The flower is shown in Fig. 156, and the 
fruit in Fig. 157. 

Experiments have been made in introducing and cul- 
tivating it in the northern latitudes of this country, but 
without much success. It requires a calcareous soil. 
In the south of France, where it flourishes best, it is 
considered an indispensable forage plant, improving 
the quality and increasing the quantity of milk when 
fed to milch cows, to which it may be given without 
producing the " hoove," to which they are subjected 
when allowed to feed freely on green clover and lucerne. 
Its stalks do not become ligneous if allowed to stand till 



SEEDS. 



SOILS. 



195 



blossoming, as those of lucerne do. The amount of 
fodder obtained from it is less than that from clover or 
lucerne, but its quality, where it can be successfully 
grown, is better. Its fruit or seeds are said to be more 
nutritious than oats. They are eagerly sought by fowls, 
and are said to cause them to lay. 





Fig. 157. 



Fig. 155. Sainfoin. 




Sainfoin, when green and j'oung, will not stand a 
severe winter, but after the second or third year will 
endure a considerable degree of cold. It will succeed 
in very dry soils, sands, and gravels, owing to its long 
descending tap root, which has been found sixteen feet 
in length. Its seeds have been generally distributed 
over the country, but, so far as I know, they have been 
followed by no narked success in the way of crops. 



196 CALIFORNIA CLOVERS. 

Sainfoin will endure in the soil, when once fixed there, 
for eight or ten years ; but it requires from three to 
four years to attain its perfect growth. In pasture cul- 
ture the grasses are apt to choke it out, by their close 
and firm turf. 

It may be proper to say, in this connection, that many 
species of plants grow, and are very useful as forage 
plants, on our Pacific coast, especially in California, 
which have not yet been fully described or finally class- 
ified. Such are, for example, the California clovers, 
species of the genus Medicago, probably, and many 
others. 



CHAPTER lY. 

THE GRASS-LIKE RUSHES, CARICES, AND SEDGES 
COMMONLY CALLED GRASSES. 

There is a large class of plants belonging to different 
families, which, though of comparatively little value 
when their nutritive qualities are considered, are nev- 
ertheless used as forage crops to a very considerable 
extent in different sections of the country, and demand 
at least a passing notice, particularly as they are called 
grasses, though improperly, in popular language. 

The first of these are the arrow grasses, which form a 
limited family, consisting of only three species, known 
as the Marsh Arrow Grass {Triglochin palustre), the 
Sea-side Arrow Grass (Triglochin maritimum), flower- 
ing in July and August, in salt marshes, and the Tall 
Arrow Grass (Triglochin elatum). The second of these, 
having rush-like leaves, sweetish to the taste, is relished 
by cattle, and forms a pretty good fodder when well 
cured. It is common along the coast from New Eng- 
land south. 

Many of the rushes or grass-like plants so common 
along the borders of our ponds, and called grasses in 
popular language, are readily eaten in the spring while 
green and full of juice, more on account of their suc- 
culency than of any nutritive qualities which they pos- 
sess, which, with few exceptions, are very slight. They 
are arranged in the following table : 

17* (197) 



198 



RUSHES. — BLACK GRASS. 



Table II.- — List of Grass-like Rushes. {Juncacem.) 



Common Name, 



Hairy Wood Rush, 
Small Wood Rush, 
Common Wood Rush, 
Pointed Rush, 
Brown Rush, 
Soft Rush, . 
Slender Rush, 
Baltic Rush, 
Bristly Rush, 
Sea Rush, . 
Pale Rush, . 
Green Rush, 
Weak Rush, 
Sharp-fruited Rush, 
Brownish-fruited Rush 
Marshal Rush, . . 
Round-headed Rush, 
Conrad's Rush, . . 
Grass-leaved Rush, 
Long-fruited Rush, 
Three-leaved Rush, 
Toad Rush, .... 
Slender Rush, . . . 
Greene's Rush, . . 
Black Grass, . . . 



Systematic Name. 



Luzula 
Luzula 
Luzula 
Luzula 
Luzula 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 
Juncus 



pilosa, . . . 
parviflora, . 
campestris, 
arcuata, . . 
spicata, . . 
effusus, . . 
filifurmis, . 
balticus, . . 
setaceus, . 
maritimus, 
scirpoides, . 
paradoxus, 
debilis, . . 
acuminatus, 
articulatus, 
militaris, , 
nodosus, . , 
Conradi, 
marginatus, 
Stygius, . . 
trifidus, . . 
bufonius, . 
tenuis, . . 
Greenei, . . 
bulbosus, , 



Time of 
Flowering. 



May, 
July, 
May, 



June, 
July, 
July, 



July, . . 
August, . 



July, . . 
July, Aug.. 
July, . . 

July, . . 
July, . . 
July, . . 
July, . . 
August, . 



Place of Growth. 



Open woods, banks. 
Mountains. 
Fields, dry woods. 
Mountains. 
Mountains. 
Swamps, common. 
Wet banks. 
Sandy shores. 
On the coast. 
Salt marshes. 
Wet banks. 
Swamps. 
Wet swamps. 
Boggy swamps. 
Wet places. 
Sandy bogs. 
Borders of rivers. 
Borders of ponds. 
Moist, sandy swamps. 
Peat swamps. 
Mountain summits. 
Low grounds, roadsides. 
Low grounds, fields. 
Sandy salt marshes. 
Borders salt marshes. 



The most prominent and valuable of these plants is 
the 

Black Grass [Juncus hulbosus, var. gerardi), an in- 
habitant of salt marshes. This plant has a simple, 
slender stem, somewhat flattened, from one to two feet 
high. It is considered the best product of the salt 
marshes, and grows most luxuriantly along their borders, 
which are only occasionally overflowed by the tides, 
often working its way to the uplands, where the seed is 
scattered, in large quantities, in curing. It should be 
cut early, and, when well cured, is thought to be nearly 
equal in value to good English hay. Though not of 
itself equal in value, weight for weight, to " goose 



THE STAR GRASSES. 199 

grass" {Glyceria maritima), yet the product per acre is 
so much larger as to make it a more desirable crop. 

There is also a small family of plants called the yel- 
low-eyed grasses, or the star grasses, consisting of 
only two species, the first of which is the Yellow- 
eyed Grass {Xyris bulbosa), flowering in July, August, 
and September, growing on sandy and peaty soils, and 
bogs near the coast ; and the second, the Common Yel- 
low-eyed Grass {Xyris caroUniana), flowering in 
August, on sandy swamps. These are beautiful grasses, 
but of no special agricultural value. 

The sedges and plants constituting the coarse and 
innutritions herbage, properly included in the term 
CAEEX, form a large and prominent genus of grass-like 
plants, consisting in all of about four hundred and fifty 
species, known to botanists, extensively diffused over 
all the damp parts of the globe, and in popular language 
called grasses. 

The roots of the sedges are perennial, and for the 
most part creeping, a few being tufted and fibrous. 
The stems are simple and free from joints or nodes. 
The leaves are linear, flat, pointed, roughish on the sur- 
face, and sharp on the edges. 

A few species of carex grow on sandy hills and along 
the sea-shore ; but most inhabit marshes, wet meadows, 
swamps, and the low, wet banks of streams and ditches, 
and moist woods. None of them are of any real agri- 
cultural value, though they constitute mainly what is 
termed " meadow hay," or more properly swale hay, in 
some parts of the country. They are nearly desti- 
tute of mealy and saccharine principles, in which many 
of the true grasses abound, and are eaten by cattle only 
when compelled by hunger, in the want of better 
grasses. It not unfrequently happens, however, that 



200 



LIST OF SEDGES. 



there is an admixture of the higher grasses among the 
carices or sedges, such as the fowl meadow, the bastard 
fowl meadow, the white top, or some of the other 
species possessing higher nutritive qualities ; and then, 
of course, the hay made from the swale is proportion- 
ably improved, and may thus become of considerable 
value for winter fodder. 

The sedges are arranged in the following table : 



Table III. — List of Caeices or Sedges. (Cyperaceoe.) 



Common Name. 


Systematic Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 


Place of Growth. 


Yellow Dwarf St-dge, . . 


Cyperus flavescens, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Bogs. 


Diandrus Sedge, .... 


Cyperus diandrus, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Wet grounds. 


Nuttall's Sedge, .... 


Cyperus Nuttallii, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Salt marshes. 


Brown Sedge, 


Cyperus flavicomus, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Low grounds. 


Chestnut Sedge, .... 


Cyperus erythrorhizos, . 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy banks. 


Michaux's Sedge, . . . 


Cyperus Michauxianus, 


Aug., . . . 


Marshes. 


Engelmann's Sedge, . . 


Cyperus Engelmanni, . 


— 


Low banks. 


Bristle-spiked Galingale, 


Cyperus strigosus, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Swamps. 


Dwarf Oilorous Galingale, 


Cyperus inflexus, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


River banks. 


Pointed Sedge, .... 


Cyperus acuminatus, . 


— 


Low grounds. 


Green Sedge, 


Cyperus virens, .... 


— 


Wet places. 


Toothed Galingale, . . 


Cyperus dentatus, . . . 


Aug, . . . 


Sandy swamps. 


Nut Grass, 


Cyperus rotundus, , . 


— 


Sandy fields. 


Gray's Galingale, . . . 


Cyperus Grayii, .... 


Aug., . . . 


Barren soils. 


Straw Sedge, 


Cyperus phymatodes, . 


Aug., . . . 


Along rivers. 


Schweinitz's Galingale, . 


Cyperus Schweinitzii, . 


Aug., . . . 


Shores of lakes. 


Ovate Sedge, 


Cyperus ovularis, . . . 


Sept., . . . 


Sandy soils. 


Bent Sedge, 


Cyperus retrnfractus, , 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy soils. 


Wiry Sedge, 


Cyperus filiculmis, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Dry barrens. 


Roundhead Sedge, . . . 


Kyllingia pumila, . . . 


Aug 


Low grounds. 


DuUchium, 


Dulichium spathaceum, 


Aug., . . . 


Around ponds. 


Dwarf Hemicarpha, . . 


Hemicarpha subsquar- 
rosa, 


July, . . . 


Wet sands. 


Horsetail Rush, .... 


Eleocharis equisetoides. 


_ 


Shallow water. 


Quadrangular Rush, . . 


Eleocharis quadrangu- 
lata, 


— 


Low grounds. 


Tubercled Spike-rush, . 


Eleocharis tuberculosa. 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy swamps. 


Obtuse Spike-rush, . . 


Eleocharis obtusa, . . . 


June, . . 


Bogs, borders of ponds. 


Oommon Spike-rush, . . 


Eleocharis palustris, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Swamps. 


Olive Spike-rush, . . . 


Eleocharis olivacea, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Wet, sandy places. 


Brake Spike-rush, . 


Eleocharis rostellata, . . 


— 


Marshes. 


Mediate Spike-rush, . . 


Eleocharis intermedia, . 


Aug., . . . 


Wet places. 


Slender Club-rush, . . 


Eleocharis tenuis, . . . 


June, . . . 


Wet places. 



LIST OF SEDGES. 



201 



Common Name. 


Systematic Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 


Place of Growth. 


Tufted Rush, 


Eleocharis compressa, . 


Wet places. 


Black Club-rush, . . . 


Eleocharis Melanocarpa, 


— 


Wet sands. 


Flat Stem-rush, .... 


Eleocharis trlcostata, . . 


— 




Eobbins's Club-rush, . . 


Eleocharis Robbinsii, . 


July, . . . 


Ponds, ditches. 


Hair Club-rush, .... 


Eleocharis acicularis, . 


June, . . . 


Muddy banks. 


Dwarf Spike-rush, . . . 


Eleocharis pygmaea, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Salt marshes. 


Threadlike Rush, . . . 


Eleocharis filiculmis. 




— 


Wet barrens. 


Scaly Club-rush, . . . 


Scirpus caespitosus. 




July, . . . 


Wet mountains. 


Flat Club-rush, .... 


Scir(>us planifolius. 




June, . . . 


Woods, bogs. 


Floating Club-rush, . . 


Scirpus subterminalis 


, . 


Aug., . . . 


Sluggish streams. 


Chair-bottom Rush, . . 


Scirpus pungens, . 




July, . . . 


Salt and fresh marshes. 


Olney'3 Rush, 


Scirpus OIneyi, . . 




July, . . . 


Salt marshes. 


Torrey's Rush, .... 


Scirpus Torreyi, . . 




July, . . . 


Borders of ponds. 


Bulrush, 


Scirpus lacustris, . 




July, . . . 


Muddy places. 


Weak-stem Rush, . . . 


Scirpus debilis, . . 




Aug., . . . 


Borders of rivers. 


Sea Bulrush, 


Scirpus maritimus. 




Aug., . . . 


Lrilt marshes. 


River Rush, 


Scirpus fluviatilis, . 




July, . . . 


Borders of lakes. 


Wood Rush, 


Scirpus sylvaticus, 




July, , . . 


Wet meadows. 


Cluster-head Rush, . . 


Scirpus polyphyllus. 




July, . . . 


Swamps, shady borders. 


Porter's Rush, .... 


Scirpus lineatus, . 




July, . . . 


Bogs. 


Wool Grass, 


Scirpus Eriophorum, 




Aug., . . . 


Wet meadows, swamps. 


Cotton Grass, 


Eriophorura Alpinum, . 


May, . . . 


Peat swamps. 


Hare's-tail, 


Eriophorum vaginatum, 


June, . . . 


Mossy swamps. 


Rusty Cotton Grass, . . 


Eriophorum Virginicum, 


July, . . . 


Swamps. 


Broad Cotton Grass, . . 


Eriophorum polystachy- 
on, 


June, . . . 
July, . . . 


Boggy meadows. 


Narrow Cotton Grass, . 


Eriophorum gracile, . . 


Mossy swamps. 


Tall Fimbristylis, . . . 


Fimbristylis spadicea, . 


Aug., . . . 


Salt marshes. 


Spreading Fimbristylis, 


Fimbristylis laxa, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Wet clays. 


Tufted Fimbristylis, . . 


Fimbristylis autumalis, . 


Sept., . . . 


Low grounds. 


Hair-like Fimbristylis, . 


Fimbristylis capillaris, . 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy fields. 


Umbrella Grass, . . . 


Fuirena squarrosa, . . 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy, wet places. 


Bald Rush, 


Psilocarya scirpoides, . 


July, . . . 


Inundated swamps. 


Pichomena, 


Dichomena leucocephala. 


Aug., . . . 


Moist barrens. 


Horned Rush, 


Ceratoschoenus cornicu- 
lata, 


- 


Borders of ponds. 


Clustered Rush, .... 


Ceratoschoenus macros- 
tachya, 


_ 


Borders of ponds. 


Wrinkled Beak-rush, . 


Rhynchospora cymosa, . 


— 


Low grounds. 


Torrey's Beak-rush, . . 


RhynchosporaTorreyana, 


— 


Pine barrens. 


Drooping Beak-rush, . . 


Rhynchospora inexpansa, 


— 


Low grounds. 


Brown Beak-rush, . . . 


Rhynchospora fusca, . . 


July, . . . 


Low grounds. 


Slender Beak-rush, . . 


Rhynchosporagracilenta, 


— 


Low grounds. 


White Beak-rush, . . . 


Rhynchospora alba, . . 


July, . . . 


Mossy swamps. 


Small Beak-rush, . , . 


Rhynchospora capillacea. 


July, . . . 


Swamps, marshes. 


Tufted Beak-rush, . . . 


Rhynchospora Kniesker- 
nii, 


July, . . . 


Bog, iron-ore banks. 


Common Beak-rush, . . 


Rhy nch ospora glomer 


ata. 


Boggy grounds. 



202 



LIST OF SEDGES. 



Common Name. 


Systematic Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 


Place of Growth. 


Round Beak-rush, . . . 


Bhynchospora cephalan 
tha, 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy swamps. 


Smooth Twig-rush, . , 


Cladium mariscoides, . 


July, . . . 


Borders of ponds. 


Whip Grass, 


Scleria triglomerata, . . 


July, . . . 


Swamps, moist thickets. 


Sessile Nut-rush, . . . 


Scleria reticularis, . . . 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy swamps. 


Loose Nut-rush, .... 


Scleria laxa, 


Aug., . . . 


Sandy swamps. 


Few-flowered Nut-rush, 


Scleria pauciflora, . . . 


July, . . . 


Swamps, hills. 


Dwarf Nut-rush, . . . 


Scleria verticillata, . . . 


June, . . . 


Swamps. 


Short-beaked Sedge, . . 


Carex gyuocrates, . . . 


— 


Swamps. 


Slender Sedge, .... 


Carex exilis, 


June, . . . 


Marshes. 


Alpine Sedge, 


Carex scirpoidea, . . . 


- 


Mountain tops. 


Small-head Sedge, . . . 


Carex capitata, . . . . 


July, . . . 


Mountain tops. 


Few-flowered Sedge, . . 


Carex pauciflora, . . . 


— 


Peat swamps. 


Bristle-stalked Sedge, . 


Carex polytrichoides, . 


May, . . . 


Low ground, woods. 


Frazer's Sedge, .... 


Carex Fraseriana, . . . 





Rich woods. 


Willdenow's Sedge, . . 


Carex Willdenovii, . . 


May, . . . 


Moist, shady places. 


Rough-beak Sedge, . . 


Carex stendelii, . . . . 


— 


Woody hills. 


Back's Stdge, 


Carex Backii, 


— 


Rocky hills. 


Two-seeded Sedge, . . . 


Carex disperma, . . . 


June, . . . 


Mossy swamps. 


Long-rooted Sedge, . , 


Carex chordorhiza, . . 


May, . . . 


Mossy swamps. 


Oval-headed Sedge, . . 


Carex cephalophora, . . 


May, . . . 


Hill-sides and fields. 


Muhlenberg's Sedge, . . 


Carex Muhlenbergii, . . 


April, . . . 


Rocky hill-sides. 


Dry-spiked Sedge, . . . 


Carex sicata, 


— 


Sandy plains. 


Rose Sedge, 


Carex rosea, 


May, . . . 


Moist woods. 


Betroflexed Sedge, . . 


Carex retroflexa, . . . 


May, . . . 


Open woods, swamps. 


Bur-reed Sedge, .... 


Carex sparganioides, . 


May, . . . 


Low, swampy grounds. 


Awl-fruited Sedge, . . 


Carex stipata, . . . . 


April, . . . 


Swamps, low grounds. 


Fox Sedge, 


Carex vulpinoidea, . . 


May, . . . 


Low grounds, common. 


Bristly-spiked Sedge, . 


Carex setacea, . . . . 


June, . . . 


Wet meadows. 


Bromus-like Sedge, . . 


Carex bromoides, . . . 


May, . . . 


Wet swamps. 


Foxtail Sedge, .... 


Carex alopecoidea, . . 


_ 


Woods. 


Sartwell's Sedge, . . . 


Carex Sartwellii, . . . 


— 




Lesser-panicled Sedge, . 


Carex teretiuscula, . . 


June, . . . 


Swamps, common. 


Large-panicled Sedge, . 


Carex decomposita, . . 


— 


Swamps. 


Three-seeded Sedge, . . 


Carex trisperma, . . 


June, . . . 


Peat swamps. 


Dewey's Sedge, .... 


Carex Dewey ana, . . 


June, . . . 


Moist woods. 


White Carex, 


Carex canescens, . . 


May, . . . 


Wet meadows. 


Little Prickly Sedge, . . 


Carex stellulata, . . 


May, . . . 


Wet meadows. 


Cluster-spiked Sedge, . 


Carex tenuiflora, . . 


June, . . . 


Mossy swamps. 


Broom-like Sedge, . . . 


Carex scoparia, . . . 


— 


Wet meadows. 


Straw-colored Sedge, . . 


Carex straminea, . . 


May, . . . 


Borders of woods. 


Long-stalked Sedge, . . 


Carex pedunculata, . 


April, . . . 


Rocky hills. 


Square-headed Sedge, . 


Carex squarrosa, . . 


May, . . . 


Low meadows, thickets. 


Buxbaum's Sedge, . . . 


Carex Buxbaumii, . . 


May, . . . 


Mossy swamps. 


Three-headed Sedge, . 


Carex triceps, .... 


May, . . . 


Woods, meadows. 


Green-spiked Sedge, . . 


Carex virescens, . . 


May, . . . 


Woods, hill-sides. 


Slender Nodding Sedge, 


Carex gracillima, . . 


June, . . . 


Moist grounds. 


Showy Sedge, 


Carex formosa, . . . 


May, . . . 


Wet meadows. 


Davis's Sedge, .... 


Carex Davlsii, . . . 


May, . . . 


Swamps, river banks. 



LIST OF SEDGES. 



203 



Common Name. 


Systematic Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 


Place of Growth. 


Rigid Sedffe, 


Carex rigida, 


July, . . . 


Mountain summits. 


Large Bog Sedge, . . . 


Carex augustata, . . . 


May, . . . 


Swamps, common. 


Smaller Bog Sedge, . . 


Carex caespitosa, . . . 


May, . . . 


Swamps, river banks. 


Water Sedge, 


Carex aquatilis, .... 


June, . . . 


Borders of lakes. 


Golden-fruited Sedge, . 


Carex aurea, 


May, . . . 


Borders of swamps. 


Fringed Sedge, .... 


Carex crinita, 


May, . . . 


Swamps, river banks. 


Few-fruited Sedge, . . 


Carex oligosperma, . . 


June, . . . 


Mountains, swamps. 


Inflated Sedge, .... 


Carex bullata, .... 


May, . . . 


Swamps. 


Cylindrical-spiked Sedge, 


Carex cylindrica, . . . 


— 


Swamps. 


Bladder-fruited Sedge, . 


Carex utriculata, . . . 


May, . . . 


Wet swamps. 


Awl-fruited Sedge, . . . 


Carex subulata, .... 


May, . . . 


Cedar swamps. 


Tall Yellow Sedge, . . . 


Carex folliculata, . . . 


June, . . . 


Swamps, bogs. 


Swollen-fruited Sedge, . 


Carex intumescens, . . 


June, . . . 


Wet grounds. 


Hop Sedge, 


Carex lupulina, .... 


June, . . . 


Swamps. 


Rough-fruited Sedge, . 


Carex scabrata, .... 


May, . . . 


Borders of brooks. 


Schwelnitz's Sedge, . . 


Carex Schweinitzii, . . 


May, . . . 


Swamps. 


Late-fruited Sedge, . . 


Carex retrorsa, .... 


May, . . . 


Borders of ponds. 


Long-pointed Sedge, . . 


Carex tentaculata, . . . 


May, . . . 


Swamps. 


Porcupine Sedge, . . . 


Carex hystricina, . . . 


June, . . . 


Swamps. 


Cyperus-like Sedge, . . 


Carex Pseudo-Cyperus, 


June, . . . 


Sw'ps, sluggish strean.s. 


Long-beaked Sedge, . . 


Carex longirostris, . . 


June, . . . 


Shady, rocky places. 


Hairy-fruited Sedge, . . 


Carex trichocarpa, . . 


June, . . . 


Marshes and lakes. 


Awned Sedge, .... 


Carex aristata, .... 


— 


Lake shores. 


TJmbel-spiked Sedge, . 


Carex umbellata, . . . 


May, . . . 


Rocky hill-sides. 


Pennsylvanian Sedge, . 


Carex Pennsylvanica, . 


April, . . . 


Dry woods. 


New England Sedge, . . 


Carex Novse-Angliae, . 


June, . . . 


Woody hills. 


Slender-leaved Sedge, . 


Carex filifirmis, .... 


May, . . . 


Peat swamps. 


Woolly-fruited Sedge, . 


Carex lanuginosa, . . . 


Slay, . . . 


Swamps. 


Sh't Woolly-spik'd Sedge, 


Carex vestita, 


May, . . . 


Moist, sandy soils. 


Pubescent Sedge, . . . 


Carex pubescens, . . . 


May, . . . 


Woods, swamps. 


Mud Sedge, 


Carex limosa, 


June, . . . 


Mossy swamps. 


Livid Sedge, 


Carex livida, 


June, . . . 


Mossy swamps. 


Large Yellow Carex, . . 


Carex flava, 


May, . . . 


Swamps. 


(Eder's Sedge, 


Carex (Ederi, 


May, . . . 


Limestone lands. 


Pale Pubescent Sedge, . 


Carex pallescens, . . . 


May, . . . 


Swamps. 


Torrey's Sedge, .... 


Carex Torreyi, .... 


— 


Northward. 


Striated Sedge, .... 


Carex striata, 


May, . . . 


Swamps. 


Granular-spiked Sedge, 


Carex granularis, . . . 


May, . . . 


Wet swamps. 


Loose-flowered Sedge, . 


Carex laxiflora, .... 


May, . . . 


Swamps, moist woods. 


Conical-fruited Sedge, . 


Carex conoidea, .... 


May, . , . 


Wet swamps. 


Blender Wood Sedge, . 


Carex digitalis, .... 


May, . . . 


Woods, hill-sides. 


Hitchcock's Sedge, . . 


Carex Hitchcnckiana, . 


May, . . . 


Woods, hill-sides. 


Small Few-fruited Sedge, 


Carex oligocarpa, . . . 


May, . . . 


Woods. 


Crooked-necked S°dge, . 


Carex tetanica, .... 


May, . . . 


Margin of lakes. 


Two-edged Sedge, . . . 


Carex anceps, .... 


May, . . . 


Woods. 


Pale, Smooth Sedge, . . 


Carex blanda, 


May, . . . 


Swamps, open woods. 


Crawe's Sedge, .... 


Carex Crawei, .... 


— 


Banks of rivers. 


Plantain-leavel Sedge, . 


Carex plantaginea, . . 


April, . . , 


Shady, rocky ravines. 


Carey's Sedge, .... 


Carex Careyana, . . . 


May, . . . 


Shady, dry woods. 



204 



RECLAIMING SWAMP LANDS. 



Common Name. 


Systematic Name. 


Time of 
Blossoming. 


Place of Growth. 


Bris'd-lea'd White Sedge, 


Carex eburnea, .... 


May, . . . 


Limestone hills. 


Fringed Sedge, .... 


Carex flexilis, .... 


June, . . . 


Moist, shady places. 


Sh't-beak'd Woody Sedge, 


Carex arctata, .... 


May, . . . 


Woods, swamps. 


Weak Sedge, 


Carex debilis, 


May, . . . 


Woods, swamps. 


MUlet-like Setlge, . . . 


Carex miliacea, .... 


May, . . . 


Wet swamps. 


Lake Sedge, 


Cnrex lucustris, .... 


June, . . . 


Deep swamps. 


Tuckermm's Sedge, . . 


Carex Tuckermani, . . 





Wet swamps. 


Washington's Sedge, . . 


Carex Washingtoniana, 


— 


Mt. Washington. 


Gray's Sedge, 


Carex Grayii, 


July, . . . 


Swamps. 


Bog Sedge, 


Carex acuta, 


— 


Dense bogs. 


Sea Carex, 


Carex arenaria, .... 


June, July, 


Sandy sea-shores. 



The above table includes nearly, if not quite, all the 
species of sedges known and described as growing in 
this country, and is thought to be very complete. 

As already intimated, none of these coarse sedges are 
rich in nutritive elements, and none are Avorthy of cul 
tivation. The farmer's care should be to eradicate them 
and supply their places with the higher and more nutri 
tious grasses. This may be done by thorough draining, 
an operation which lies at the foundation of all success 
ful management of low lands, and without which they 
are comparatively worthless, while, if properly re- 
claimed, they are among the best and most productive 
lands on the farm. 

When properl}' improved, and sown to the higher 
and better grasses, like Timothy, redtop, orchard grass, 
rough-stalked meadow, &c., they will produce the most 
luxuriant crops for several years in succession, often 
paying the cost of improvement the first year. Low 
grounds and swamps are the farmer's muck-beds. Thou- 
sands of acres of such lands now lie worthless and 
unproductive, waiting only to be reclaimed to add vastly 
to the material wealth of the country. 



CHAPTER V. 

VARIOUS CLASSIFICATIONS OP THE GRASSES. 

Many of the grasses which have been described in 
the preceding chapters possess but little value for the 
purposes of cultivation, it is true, but it should not be 
forgotten that they all have their uses ; and these uses 
in the grand economy of nature are exceedingly im- 
portant, however they may appear to our short-sighted 
vision. 

No plant comes up to the sunlight, or expands its 
beautiful leaves, that does not derive its support in 
part from the atmosphere ; and, even though its life be 
short, it adds materially, in its decay, to the vast mass 
of vegetable mould which covers the surface of the 
globe, and forms the richness of the soil. This surface 
mould has been accumulating for ages in many locali- 
ties ; every plant that grew in ages past bringing down 
to us in a tangible form the riches with which the air 
that surrounded it was stored, which now lie waiting 
the farmers' use in meadows of exhaustless fertility, in 
swamps and bogs of vast, increasing utility in our agri- 
culture, and in beds of peat, the value of which we 
have scarcely begun to appreciate. Thus, the grasses 
which are not cultivated for their direct nutritive qual- 
ities are not without their value, and they deserve our 
careful study and attention. 

It is evident that various classifications of the grasses 
may be made, and that many species might be separated 
18 (205) 



206 THE JUNGLE GRASS. 

into distinct groups, which would greatly facilitate the 
study of this family of plants ; and this classification 
the reader can readily make, at his convenience. As an 
example, we have 

I. The Bush or Jungle Grasses, or such as are not 
inclined to grow with other species, and form a close, 
matted turf or sward. Of these we have as examples 

the 

Tufted Hair Grass {Aira coespitosa) . 

Meadow Oat Grass {Avena pratensis). 

Tall Fescue Grass {Festuca elatior). 
A few others, if sown alone, will assume somewhat 
the same form, in tufts or cushions ; as, 

Sheep's Fescue {Festuca ovina). 

Hard Fescue {Festuca duriuscula). 

Orchard Grass {Dactylis glomerata). 
This peculiarity in the growth of the last three 
grasses is prevented by close pasturing, rolling, and 
proper cultivation. These operations improve upon 
nature, since, if left to themselves, they would far more 
certainly assume the jungle growth, such as is often 
seen on poor, thin pasture soils ; a close, fine, matted 
sward being attained only by careful cultivation. 

The habit of jungle or tufted growth is, it will be 
perceived, rather an exceptional one, the general and 
one of the most important characteristics of the true 
grasses being to grow and form a turf on good soils. 
Many of the sedges and some of the coarse grasses 
form tussocks in wet meadows and swampy places, 
while neither wheat, rye, barley, nor oats, ever form a 
close turf or sward. 

A little reflection will lead to the conclusion that it is 
mainly the better and more valuable grasses, such as 
Timothy, redtop, meadow foxtail, June grass, &c., which 



AQUATICS. — SALT-MARSH GRASSES. 207 

have this property. This mode of growth has a far 
more important bearing upon practical agriculture than 
one, at first view, would suppose ; since it stores away- 
near the surface a vast accumulation of materials of 
great value in improving the qualities of the soil, when 
turned over, to say nothing of the beauty it adds to 
the landscape, or the firmness it gives to the surface of 
the earth. 

II. The Aquatic or Water Grasses form another 
distinct group ; and among these are the 

Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea). 

Common Reed Grass [Phragmites communis). 

Water Spear Grass ( Glyceria aquatica). 

Common Manna Grass ( Glyceria Jiuitans). 

Rice Grass (Leersia oryzoides). 

Floating Foxtail [Alopecurus geniculatus). 

Wild Rice {Zizania aquatica). 
These grasses grow mostly in water, and are not culti- 
vated with us as agricultural grasses, with the exception, 
perhaps, of the first. Wild rice grass is sometimes cul- 
tivated, and yields large crops at the South, and floating 
foxtail in Europe. 

III. MjiRSH or Salt Grasses, among which we have 
Salt Reed Grass (Spartina polystachya). 

Rush Salt Grass {Spartina juncea). 
* Salt Marsh Grass (Spartina stricta). 
Black Grass (Juncus hulbosus). 
Beach Grass (Ammophila arundinacea). 
Goose Grass {Glyceria maritima). 

IV. Field or Pasture Grasses. — Under this head 
may be included a very large number of species, all of 
which have been described above. They might be sub- 
divided according to the soils and situations which they 
naturally affect ; for, though a grass may sometimes be 



208 ANNUAL WEEDS. 

found or placed in a soil which is not naturally fitted 
for it, 3^et no species will arrive at its most perfect 
development on a soil not well adapted to it. 
Among these might be mentioned, as examples, 

Timothy (Phleum prafense). 
Meadow Foxtail (Alopecicrus pratensis). 
Common Spear Grass (Poa pratensis). 
Orchard Grass {Dadylis glomerata). 
Perennial Rye Grass [Lolium perenne). 
Italian Rye Grass {Lolium itolicum). 
Redtop (Agrostis vulgaris). 
Whitetop {Agrostis alba). 
Downy Oat Grass {Avena pubescens). 
Meadow Soft Grass {Holcus lanatus). 
Meadow Fescue {Festuca pratensis). 
Field Barley Grass {Hordeum pratense). 
Tall Oat Grass {Arrhenatherum avenaceum). 

Timothy, as has already been seen, is the standard 
field grass in this group, and is suited to all climates of 
this country north of Virginia and Tennessee, though it 
sometimes suffers from drought in states further north. 
It is a field, and not a pasture grass, as it will not endure 
very close and frequent cropping. This is seen in the 
readiness with Avhich a Timothy stubble parches up, 
unless there is rain or cloudy weather immediately after 
it is cut. 

V. Annual Weeds, which, though proper grasses, 
are often very troublesome in cultivated grounds, either 
on account of their creeping, underground stems, or 
their rapid and luxuriant growth. Thrifty farming is a 
ceaseless struggle against these pests, and the farmer is 
generally careful to keep as clear as possible of them. 
Among these may be named 



GREEN MANURING GRASSES. 209 

Chess (Bromus secalinus). 
Soft Brome Grass (Bromus mollis). 
Slender Foxtail {Alopecurus agrestis). 
Fiorin {Agrostis stolonifera). 
Couch Grass ( Triticum repens). 
Rough- stalked Meadow (Poa trivialis). 
Annual Spear Grass {Poa annua). 
Blue or Wire Grass {Poa comjyressa). 

Of these, the last four are not always considered 
as weeds, since they are sometimes sown as pasture 
grasses ; but, when they appear in cultivated grounds, 
in gravel-walks, and avenues, they are exceedingly 
troublesome, and difficult to eradicate. 

VI. Grasses adapted for Culture as Green Ma- 
nuring Plants. — It is evident, on reflection, that green 
vegetable manuring is the natural and cheapest means 
of replenishing the constant waste and exhaustion of 
the richer qualities of the soil in the production of 
grains and the higher grasses used in the nourishment 
of animals, especially when these products are con- 
sumed at a distance from where they grew. It is rare 
that the farmer restores to the soil all or as much as he 
takes from it. Even the animal can hardly be said to 
restore to the land on which he feeds all he takes from 
it, unless his body is left to decay beneath the surface 
of the sod which helped to build up his bony and mus- 
cular frame ; and this is rarely the case in practical 
farming. The farmer himself sells more or less of the 
products of his labor and of his soil to be transported 
to considerable distances, never to be restored ; and 
hence the land very rarely receives the full compensa- 
tion for what has been taken from it in the shape of 
hay, grains, vegetables, or pasturage. 

Nature, left to herself, prevents any exhaustion by the 

18* 



210 ELEMENTS OF THE AIR. 

boundless luxuriance of vegetable growth. Light and 
air, heat and water, are the sources of vitality, and they 
become incorporated, as it were, or assume a tangible 
form, in the green masses produced in tbe surface of the 
earth; and these, in decaying, constantly increase the fer- 
tilit}' of the soil, because they not only restore to it the 
inorganic substances which they took from it, but many 
others which they drew from the atmosphere, and em- 
bodied in their leaves, and stalks, and roots. 

The atmosphere is known to be full of the very ele- 
ments which it is most desirable to secure and turn to 
our own use ; and there is no way in which the farmer 
can avail himself of these invaluable aids so surely as 
by embodying them in the form of green vegetable 
masses, and turning them fresh beneath the surface, 
where they soon decay, and are ready to nourish other 
vegetable bodies, that is, to produce crops which are of 
money value. 

Green manuring has rarely, or never, failed of pro- 
ducing satisfactory results, when it has been economi- 
cally and judiciously appHed ; and its value as the true 
mode of fertilizing the earth has been sufficiently proved 
in practice, in cases where the farmer has ploughed in 
clover, buckwheat, oats, &c. The result or effect of 
green manuring is well known, and the truth of the sys- 
tem is sufficiently shown in the fact that it is strictly in 
accordance with nature. 

But our ordinary modes have usuall}^ been too expen- 
sive, either on account of the cost of the seed of the 
clovers or other large seeds, or in causing the loss of 
the crop for the year, that is, in fallowing ; or in failing 
to secure the full benefit of the system, from the use of 
too few varieties or species of plants, and consequently 
having too small a mass of vegetable matter ; yet, not- 
withstanding this failure to secure the highest advan- 



GREEN VEGETABLE MASSES. 211 

tages of which the system is susceptible, the farmer 
has, by means of turning in green crops, increased the 
amount and depth of the mould in his soil, and thus 
fitted it to produce a stronger stalk and more perfect 
grain, and saved the expense and labor of hauling the 
heavier manures, his green crops for manuring being 
ready at hand. 

Now, instead of relying ypon clover or buckwheat 
mainly, which has commonly been the case, suppose the 
farmer should select the seeds of such vegetables as are 
adapted to this system, and productive of the best 
results, and take pains to plant them for the express 
purpose of green manuring, either along with his wheat 
and other winter grain, to be turned in green with the 
stubble the following summer, or in the spring, to be 
ploughed in in autumn on wheat-land, or land to be sown 
with other winter crops. 

His object would be to produce the largest possible 
mass. He should, then, select the smallest-seeded plants, 
other things being equal, and a large variety of them. 
These seeds may be selected by himself on his own 
farm, and cost him only the trouble of gathering, say 
from fifty cents to a dollar for ten pounds, or enough to 
sow an acre, while he may bring about far more satisfac- 
tory results in the infinitely greater mass of vegetable 
matter which he can thus produce. 

This is an important consideration, not only from the 
fact that a great variety will hasten the fermentation in 
the soil, and thus materially elevate the temperature, 
but because different varieties or species of plants take 
from the atmosphere and embody different elements, 
and also because it is only by a large number of spe- 
cies that a close, thick mass can be obtained. The best 
results can only be brought about by the vigor of 
growth and the variety. The vigor of growth depends 



212 SIZE OP SEEDS. 

much upon the great variety, and the variety is attained 
cheaply by plants of small seeds. 

In a pound of buckwheat, for instance, there are only 
about fifteen thousand seeds ; in red clover, a little 
over two hundred and fifty thousand ; in rye and oats, 
about twenty thousand ; while in many of the best 
plants for manuring, there are over a million grains to 
the pound. 

In what does the superiority of clover as a green 
manuring plant consist? Is it not in the vast amount 
of water stored away in its succulent leaves and stems, 
which causes it to decay with great rapidity when 
buried in the soil, and thus furnish a supply of fertiliz- 
ing materials in the quickest manner? In this respect 
it is no doubt exceedingly valuable for the purpose ; 
but is it not possible to render other plants, whose 
seeds are far less expensive, equally watery and luxu- 
riant, by sowing them thickly together, and by a judi- 
cious selection of large and leafy plants for protecting 
the smaller ones by their shade ? 

If the above suggestions are worthy of consideration, 
it would seem to follow that many of the plants now 
regarded as weeds, and never cultivated, except in some 
cases for the beauty of their flowers, may be valuable 
to sow and turn in as green manure. Any plants, in- 
deed, which will grow with others, and form a great 
mass of green vegetable growth, embodying and cor- 
porifying the fertilizing elements of the air, may be 
made useful and serviceable to the farmer. 

It is not my purpose, in this connection, to develop a 
complete system of green manuring by a description 
of all the plants most valuable to be used for this ob- 
ject, but only to suggest that some of the species of the 
grasses which have been alluded to in the preceding 
pages may be important as green manure plants, espe- 



GREEN MANURING GRASSES. 213 

cially to sow with some of the larger and ranker plants, 
which may serve to protect them, and to leave the 
reader, who may be interested in experimenting in this 
direction, to add to the mixtures according to his judg- 
ment and pleasure, bearing in mind that when used for 
the green manuring, neither the coarser plants nor the 
grasses are allowed to blossom and go to seed, the 
design being to turn them in before this stage of their 
growth, in which case the ground is not injured by foul 
seeds. Suppose, then, we take, as 

GREEN MANDRINQ GRASSES, 

One pound of Bristly Foxtail, 600,000 seeda. 

«» «' Wood Hair Grass, 2,000,000 " 

" " " Tufted Hair Grass, 2,000,000 " 

*' " " Meadow Soft Grass, 1,500,000 « 

« « « Perennial Rye Grass, 250,000 " 

« " " Chess, 150,000 " 

" " " Millet Grass, 1,200,000 " 

" " " Melic Grass, 500,000 " 

" " " Tall Oat Grass, 350,000 «« 

« « .. Tickle Grass, 4,000,000 « 

These are some of the wild grasses which will sug- 
gest themselves to the mind of the reader, who has 
made himself familiar with the natural history of the 
grasses, as given in chapter first, and such as are 
adapted for use on medium soils ; and they may be 
increased, as already intimated. They are all to be 
found in the places indicated, their seeds collected and 
saved for sowing as a top-seed with grains. One 
pound of each is stated, for the purpose of indicating 
the number of seeds it contains. This number cannot, 
of course, be strictly accurate, because it will always 
var}'^ a little, according to its cleanliness and freedom 
from chaff; but it is sufficiently so for practical pur- 
poses. Only about five million seeds are required for 
an acre, so that the number of pounds needed to seed 



214 ON VAEIOUS SOILS. 

thickly and well can be easily calculated, taking the 
requisite quantities of each species, and the average 
number of seeds to the pound. The number of differ- 
ent species taken, including some of the larger-leaved 
or protection plants, should be at least as many as ten; 
the more the better, as they vrill more surely form a 
close, thick mass of green vegetation. 

Of the better grasses suited to this top-seed manure 
culture on medium soils, might be mentioned the 



Tall Fescue, 


of about 325,000 seeds 


1 to the pound. 


June Grass, 




" 3,888,000 " 




Meadow Fescue, 




" 420,000 " 




Orchard Grass, 




" 640,000 ♦' 




Timothy, 




«' 1,100,000 «' 




Quaking Grass, 




" 7,000,000 " 




Bermuda Grass, 




" 700,000 " 




Striped Grass, 




« 670,000 " 





Making use of a mixture of some or all of the species 
named above, together with more or less plants of a 
larger and ranker growth, we might form a heavy mass 
to turn under and enrich and mellow the soil. 

Such as would be suited to a heavy clay soil may be 
selected from the above, bearing in mind that the 
larger plants to be sown with them should be such as 
penetrate deeply, and grow with a rank and vigorous 
growth. In a similar manner may be selected mixtures 
for light sands, by a reference to grasses that affect 
such soils, as described in the first chapter. 

To carry out a complete system of green manuring, 
requires some little time in securing the seeds ; and this 
the farmer must attend to personally, if he wishes to 
have them fresh and good. There is scarcely any 
plant that grows along his fields, pastures, and roadsides, 
that may not be made serviceable as a green manure, if 
judiciously managed, and sown and turned under in the 
proper season. The economy of green manuring 



STUDY OF PLANTS. 215 

depends upon being able to throw in the vegetable 
growth between the other and valuable crops, without 
the loss of time or land. To adopt it, the farmer will 
need to observe, and become familiar with, to some ex- 
tent, the plants on his farm ; and if he finds, by experi- 
ment, that green manuring is efiective in giving him 
better crops at less expense, he will need to have a 
6eed-bed for many of the plants he may wish to use, 
in order to be sure of a regular and constant supply 
of seed. 

It will be easy to give the system of green manuring 
a fair and complete experiment, by taking a small piece, 
say a quarter or half an acre ; and for this purpose the 
seeds of wild plants of the farm can be procured, grown, 
and turned in for wheat, rye, or oats, and the result 
noted. 

YIl. Litter Grasses. Many of the wild grasses 
grow with great luxuriance, and often in places very 
convenient to the barn or the homestead ; and some of 
them, owing to their size and abundance of leaves, are 
admirably adapted for litter, and used as such they 
greatly increase the manure-heap. 

A selection might be made of grasses of this descrip- 
tion, which would produce as valuable a yield of litter 
as the straw of some of our grain crops. The follow- 
ing, with many others, might be suggested : 

Common Reed Grass [Phragmites communis). 
Lyme Grass [Elymus virginicus). 
Canadian Lyme Grass {Elymus canadensis). 
Slender Hairy Lyme {Elymus striatus). 
Reed Canary Grass {Phalaris arundinacea). 

All of these grasses have been described in chapter 
first, and their natural habitat given under each. 



216 STUDY OF PLANTS. 

The various groups given above are suggested 
merely as examples, and innumerable others may be 
made to suit the reader's convenience, and as one of the 
means of becoming familiar with many species which 
are now everywhere and daily passed by unnoticed on 
the farm. Groups, for instance, might be formed of 
grasses best adapted for raising cattle, grasses best 
adapted for raising horses, those best adapted for graz- 
ing sheep, and those best adapted for milch cows and 
dairy farming. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Ithe comparative nutritive value op the 

* GRASSES. 

|We have seen that the various species of grass differ 
vQ-y materially in nutritive value: that some contain 
tin greatest quantity of nutritive matter when green or 
in the flower, others when the seed is ripe and the 
plait mature ; that some yield a luxuriant aftermath, 
whie others can scarcely be said to produce any at all ; 
that some flourish in elevated situations, and are best 
suited to the grazing of sheep, while others grow most 
luxurantly on the low lands and in the marshes, and sus- 
tain t\e richest dairies ; and that no soil is so sterile, no 
plain so barren, but that a grass can be found adapted 
to it. 

Somt species, indeed, will not endure a soil even 
of medum fertility, nor the application of any stim- 
ulating manure, but cling, with astonishing tenacity, 
to the djfting sands, while others prefer the heaviest 
clays, or revel in the hot beds of ammonia ; some are 
gregariois in their habits, requiring to be sown with 
other spaies, and, if sown alone, will linger along till 
the wild gasses spring up to their support ; others are 
solitary, aid, if mixed with different species, will either 
extirpate t\em, usurping to themselves the entire soil, 
or die and disappear. Nearly every species is distin- 
guished for \ome peculiar quality, and most are deficient 
in some, conparatively few combining all the qualities 

19 (217) 



218 HOETUS GRAMINEUS WOBURNENSIS. 

desired by us in alternate field crops, for pastures, or 
permanent mowing, to such an extent as to justify a 
general cultivation. 

It is important, therefore, to learn the comparative 
nutritive value of each species thought to be worth 
cultivating; and it is the object of this chapter to throw 
some light upon this point. 

This study is naturally attended with great difficulties. 
It is but recently that accurate researches have beea 
made with a view of arriving at such positive results is 
would be entitled to full confidence. 

In 1824, a very laudable attempt was made, in Eig- 
land, by the Duke of Bedford, at Woburn Abbey, to 
ascertain the comparative value of most of the grases 
which could then be obtained; and the results of the 
experiments, conducted by his gardener, George Sin- 
clair, were detailed in a volume under the title of '-'■Hor- 
tus Oramineus Woburnensisy This work, which wjs the 
first treatise worthy of mention on this subject, became 
the text-book on the grasses, and has been fol]o\Aed, by 
most subsequent writers, down to the presen time. 
But these experiments must be regarded as verj unsat- 
isfactory, both on account of the imperfection of the 
methods of arriving at the results (though thy were 
the best then known, and suggested by Sir Himphrey 
Dav}^), and because each species or variety vas culti- 
vated only to a very limited extent. The prduce per 
acre, for instance, was calculated, in most cses, from 
the yield of four square feet. Besides this, rerj great 
discrepancies occur in the volume, which cai with diffi- 
culty be accounted for. 

The analj'^ses recently made by Professcr Way, the 
distinguished chemist of the Royal Agricultiral Society, 
are more reliable, in my estimation, than a)y which can 
be found, and no treatise on the grasses W3uld be com- 



KITROGENOUS COMPOUNDS. 219 

plete without giving the valuable results to which lie 
has arrived. 

It is now very well established that the nutritive 
value of the food of an animal depends greatly upon the 
proportion of nitrogenous substances contained in it. 
Without doubt, the sugar which is found to be an ingre- 
dient of most vegetable substances at some periods of 
their growth in some degree contributes to it also ; 
so do the starch and other ingredients which combine 
to promote heat and respiration; for no doubt there is 
a mutual relation existing between the various elements 
of food, some going to sustain and nourish one part of 
the animal system, and others forming some other part, 
equally important to health and existence. Each may 
perform its function, and be not only important, but 
indispensable ; but chemists have been accustomed to 
base the nutritive value of articles of food chiefly upon 
the nitrogenous compounds. 

The nitrogenous constituents of any substance, as 
grass or hay, for instance, may be determined with little 
difficulty, and with great exactness, since it has been 
found, by abundant research, that, when present, they are 
of nearly the same constitution, and do not vary in their 
combinations. The determination of the sugar is some- 
what more difficult. 

The constituents of plants may accordingly be divided 
into two classes: one class embracing all those sub- 
stances of which nitrogen or azote forms a part, and the 
other consisting of non-nitrogenous bodies. Gluten, al- 
bumen, gelatine, casein, legumen, and fibrin, belong to 
the former class, being nitrogenous substances; while 
starch, gum, sugar, woody fibre, mucilage, <fec., are desti- 
tute of nitrogen, or non-nitrogenous. 

Only a small quantity of nitrogen is found in vege- 
table substances, and it is derived in part, at least, from 



220 NUTRITIVE ELEMENTS. 

the atmosphere, in the form of ammonia. On the other 
hand, nitrogenous substances form a large proportion 
of the constituents of the blood of animals, and appear 
in their whole system. As there is a constant waste in 
the animal, and a continual formation of new tissues, — 
as the whole body is constantly renewed through the 
agency of the blood which is converted into flesh and 
muscle, — there must be a never-failing supply of nour- 
ishment ; and this nourishment for the higher animals is 
found, as already intimated, to a considerable extent, in 
the nitrogenous elements of plants. 

For every ounce of nitrogen which the animal re- 
quires to sustain life, and build up the muscular and 
fleshy parts of his body, he must take into the stom- 
ach, in the shape of food, such a quantity of vege- 
table substances as will furnish him with an ounce of 
nitrogen in combination with other essential elements. 
If we suppose one kind of hay to contain one ounce 
of nitrogen to the pound, and another to have only 
half as much, or only an ounce in two pounds, the 
pound which contains the ounce of nitrogen would go 
as far to nourish the animal — other things being equal 
— as the two pounds which contain only the same quan- 
tity of nitrogen. The importance of woody fibre to act 
mechanically in giving bulk to the food is not, of course, 
to be overlooked. 

Nor is this a mere deduction of theory. The experi- 
ment has frequently been made, and it is now fully 
established, both by science and experience, that the 
greater the proportion of nitrogen which any vegetable 
contains, if it also contains other important constitu- 
ents in proper combination, the smaller will be the quan- 
tity of that vegetable required to nourish the animal 
body, and the less nitrogen any vegetable contains, the 
greater will be the quantity of it required. 

Muscle and flesh are composed of nitrogenous princi- 



FAT-FORMING SUBSTANCES. 221 

pies, while fat is made up, to a great extent, of non- 
nitrogenous matter. Every keeper of stock knows that 
to feed an animal on oil-cake alone, for instance, which 
is but slightly nitrogenous, might fatten him, but it 
would not give him strength of muscle or size ; while, 
if the same animal be kept on the cereal grains, as wheat 
or Indian corn, alone, his size rapidly increases, his mus- 
cular system develops, and he gains flesh without in- 
creasing his fat in proportion. These substances are 
usually given, therefore, as a part of the regular feed, 
only, or in connection with other and bulkier substances, 
as hay. It was with reference to these facts that Boussin- 
gault formed his tables of nutritive equivalents, and 
they agree very closely with the results of practical 
observation. 

The non-nitrogenous substances are equally necessary 
for the production of fat, and to supply the animal 
body with heat ; and thus they meet a want in the animal 
economy, although they do not, according to chemical 
investigations, contribute so directly to nourish and 
sustain the system. They are, therefore, important 
in the analyses of articles of food, though not so essen- 
tial in determining merely their nutritive values. 

From what has been said, the reader will very readily 
understand the following tables, containing the results 
of the investigations of Professor Way. The specimens 
of the various grasses, on which his researches were 
made, were analyzed both in their green state as taken 
from the field, and after being dried at a temperature 
of 212° Fahr., a point at which the moisture is found to 
be entirely expelled, and evaporation ceases, and the 
importance of both determinations must be obvious on 
a moment's reflection. 

The names of the natural grasses, and the dates of 
their collection, are arranged in the following table : 
19* 



222 



way's investigations. 



Table IV. — Natural Grasses. Name 
Collection. 



AND Date of 



Common Name. 


Botanic Name. 


Date of 
Collection. 


Character of the Soil. 


Sweet-scented Vernal, . 


Anthoxanthum odoratum, . 


May 25, 


Calcareous loam. 


Meadow Foxtail Grass, . 


Alopecurus pratensis, . . . 


June 1, 


Calcareous loam, grav- 
elly subsoil. 


Tall Oat Grass, .... 


Arrhenatherura avcnaceum. 


July 17, 


Forest marble loam. 


Yellow Oat Grass, . . . 


Avena flavescens, 


June 29, 


Forest marble loam. 


Downy Oat Grass, . . . 


Trisetum pubescens, .... 


July 11, 


Dry calcareous loam. 


Quaking Grass, .... 


Briza media, 


June 29, 


Forest marble. 


Upright Brome, .... 


Bromus erectus, 


June 23, 


Calcareous loam. 


Soft Brome Grass, . . . 


Bromus mollis, 


May 8, 


Stiff loam. 


Crested Dog's-tail, . . . 


Cynosurus cristatus, .... 


June 21, 


Calcareous loam. 


Orchard Grass, .... 


Dactylis glomerata, .... 


June 13, 


Calcareous loam on 
gravel. 


Orchard Grass, ripe, . . 


Dactylis glomerata, .... 


July 19, 


Calcareous loam. 


Hard Fescue Grass, . . 


Festuca duriuscula, .... 


June 13, 


Dry calcareous loam. 


Meadow Soft Grass, . . 


IIolcus lanatus, 


June 29, 


Calcareous loam. 


Barley Grass, 


Hordeum pratense, .... 


July 11, 


Calcareous loam on 
gravel. 


Perennial Rye Grass, . . 


Lolium perenne, 


June 8, 


Calcareous rubblyloam. 


Italian Eye Grass, . . . 


Lolium Italicum, 


June 13, 


Forest marble loam. 


Timothy, 


Phleum pratense, 


June 13, 


Forest marble loam. 


Annual Spear Grass, . . 


Poa annua, 


May 23, 


Loam, with gravelly 
subsoil. 


June Grass, 


Poa pratensis, 


June 11, 


Dry calcareous loam. 


Eough-stalked Meadow, 


Poa trivialis, 


June 18, 


Calcareous loam. 


Irrigated Meadow Grass, 


First crop, 


April 30, 


Calcareous loam. 


Irrigated Meadow Grass, 


Second crop, 


June 26, 


Calcareous loam. 


Annual Rye Grass, . . 


_ - - 


June 8, 


Calcareous rubblyloam. 



In the same manner the name and date of collection 
of each specimen of artificial grass, analyzed, are ar- 
ranged in Table V. 

The inquiries of Professor Way were directed to 
ascertain 

1. The proportion of water in each grass as taken 
from the field. 

2. The proportion of albuminous or flesh-forming 
substances, including, without distinction, all the nitro- 
genous principles. 

3. The proportion of oily or fatty matters, which may 
be called fat-forming principles. 



COLLECTION OF CLOVERS. 



223 



• 4. The proportion of elements of respiration, or heat- 
producing principles, among which are included starch, 
gum, sugar, pectic acid, &c. ; all the non-nitrogenous 
substances, indeed, except fatty matters and woody 
fibre. 

5. The proportion of woody fibre. 

6. The amount of mineral matter or ash. 



Table V. — Artificial Grasses. Name, and Date 
OF Collection. 



Common Name. 


Botanic Name. 


Date of 
Collection. 


Character of Soil. 


Red Clover, 


Trifolium pratense, .... 


June 7, 


Tenacious loam. 


Perennial Clover, . . . 


Trifolium perenne, .... 


June 4, 


Calcareous loam. 


Crimson Clover, .... 


Trifolium incarnatum, . . 


June 4, 


Calcareous loam. 


Cow Grass, 


Trifolium medium, .... 


June 7, 


Tenacious loam. 


Cow Grass, 2d lot, . . . 


Trifolium medium, .... 


June 21, 


Calcareous loam. 


Hop Trefoil, 


Trifolium procumbens, . . 


June 13, 


Calcareous loam. 


■White Clover, 


Trifolium repens, .... 


June 18, 


Forest loam. 


Common Vetch, .... 


Vicia sativa, 


June 13, 


Forest loam. 


Sainfoin, 


Onobrychis sativa, .... 


June 8, 


Dry loam. 


Lucerne, or Alfalfa, . . 


Sledicago sativa, 


June 16, 


- 


Black Medick, or Nonsuch, 


Medicago lupulina, .... 


June 6, 


Calcareous loam. 



The specimens were picked out, plant by plant, each 
specimen by itself, from fields in which they were grow- 
ing naturally, or mixed in the ordinary mode of cultiva- 
tion, and were not raised expressly for analysis. 

These tables of analyses, containing, as they do, the 
results of profound investigation, and forming, as they 
do, one of the most important contributions recently 
made to the science of agriculture, are worthy of care- 
ful study, and will be found to be full of the most 
valuable practical suggestions. 

The results of the analysis of the natural grasses 
in the green state, as taken from the field, are arranged 
in Table VI., as follows : 



224 



ANALYSES OF TRUE GRASSES. 



Table YI. — Analysis of Natural Grasses. (100 
parts as taken green from the field.) 



Name of Gra^s. 







60 1 -r 




















5 C 5 


s 


3_£ ""S 


2 


CT-- 


g 




<a 


< 




a 


1 



£■2 



ripC; 



Sweet-scented Vernal, 
Meadow Foxtail, 
Tall Oat Grass, . . 
Yellow Oat Grass, . 
Downy Oat Grass, . 
Quaking Grass, . . 
Upright Brome Grass 
Soft Brome Grass, . 
Crested Dog's-tail, . 
Orchard Grass, . . 
Orchard Grass, seeds 
Hard Fescue Grass, 
Meadow Soft Grass, 
Barley Grass, . . . 
Perennial Rye Grass, 
Italian Rye Grass, . 
Timothy Grass, . . 
Annual Spear Grass, 
June Grass, .... 
Rough-stalked Meadow, 
Irrigated Meadow Grass, 
Irrigated Meadow, 2d crop 
Annual Rye Grass, . . 



80.35 
80.20 
72.65 
60.40 
61.50 
51.85 
59.57 
76.62 
62.73 
70.00 
52.57 
69.33 
69.70 
58.85 
71.43 
75.61 
57.21 
79.14 
67.14 
73.60 
87.58 
74.53 
69.00 



2.05 
2.44 
3.54 
2.96 
3.07 
2.93 
3.78 
4.05 
4.13 
4.06 
10.93 
3.70 
3.49 
4.59 
3.37 
2.45 
4.86 
2.47 
3.41 
2.58 
3.22 
2.78 
2.96 



.67 
.52 
.87 

1.04 
.92 

1.45 

1.35 
.47 

1.32 
.94 
.74 

1.02 

1.02 
.94 
.91 
.80 

1.50 
.71 
.86 
.97 
.81 
.52 
.69 



8.54 

8.59 
11.21 
18.66 
19.16 
22.60 
33 

9.04 
19.64 
13.30 
12.61 
12.46 
11.92 
20.05 
12.08 
14.11 
22.85 
10.79 
14.15 
10.54 

3.98 
11.17 
12.89 



7.15 

6.70 

9.37 

14.22 

13.34 

17.00 

19 

8.46 

9.80 

10.11 

20.54 

11.83 

11.94 

13.03 

10.06 

4.82 

11.32 

6.30 

12.49 

10.11 

3.13 

8.76 

12.47 



1.24 
1.55 
2.36 
2.72 
2.01 
4.17 
2.11 
1.36 
2.38 
1.59 
2.61 
1.66 
1.93 
2.54 
2.15 
2.21 
2.26 
.59 
1.95 
2.20 
1.28 
2.24 
1.99 



A glance at the first column of Table YI. will show a 
striking difference in the percentage of water, it being 
as high as 80 in some instances, while it falls as low as 
60, and in one instance to 51, without considering the 
second specimen of orchard grass, — in which the seed 
was allowed to ripen, when, of course, the amount of 
water would be much less than at the period of flower- 
ing, — or the irrigated grasses. 



STRIKING CONTRASTS. 225 

It will be noticed that those grasses which come 
earliest into flower are generally the most succulent, 
though this is not uniformly the case. 

It will be seen, also, that the sweet-scented vernal 
grass and the meadow foxtail contain but 20 parts in 
100 of dry, solid matter, while the yellow oat and the 
downy oat grasses contain nearly double, or about 40 
per cent. This difference, though of no great import- 
ance in itself, is of some interest in showing that, to 
judge of the quantity of hay a given burden of grass 
will produce, it is necessary to consider the species of 
grass which mainly composes the meadow, since it is 
evident that a given weight of one variety might make 
double the quantity of the same weight of another. 

But the chief interest of the table is to be found in 
columns three, four, and five. The albuminous or flesh- 
forming principles will be found to be double in some 
instances what they are in others ; and, in accordance 
with the principles laid down in the explanatory re- 
marks which precede the tables, some would appear to 
be more than twice as nutritive as others; but it should 
be borne in mind that these differences depend in part 
on the variations in the quantity of water, and that the 
real differences will appear more apparent in the dried 
specimens. 

A glance at Table VII. will show that the percentage 
of water in the artificial grasses, as taken from the field, 
is greater than that of the natural grasses under the 
same circumstances. The percentage of albuminous 
or flesh-forming principles is generally, though by no 
means uniformly, less than that of our best grasses. 
Compare red clover, for instance, with Timothy, and 
the first striking peculiarity is the difference in the 
amount of water; in the one case exceeding 81 per 
cent., leaving but 19 per cent, of solid matter, from 



226 



EXAMINATION OF CLOVEES. 



which the flesh-forming and other nutritive substances 
must be drawn ; while in Timothy the water amounts 
to only a little over 57 per cent., leaving 43 per cent, of 
solid substances containing nutritive principles. 

This is an important difi'erence, to begin with. The 
percentage of flesh-forming principles of the two plants 
does not, at first sight, appear to differ very materially, 
the clover containing 4.27, the Timothy 4.86 ; but a lit- 
tle consideration of the exceeding value of this con- 
stituent will show that the latter has an important 
advantage in this respect over the clover. In fat-form- 
ing principles the Timothy is more than twice as rich 
as clover; while in heat-producing principles — also very 
valuable — Timothy far surpasses clover, the one pro- 
ducing 22.85 per cent., and the other only 8.45 per cent. 
Of waste and useless matter in the shape of woody fibre 
Timothy contains the largest per cent., while the larger 
quantity of mineral matter shows it also to be a greater 
exhauster of the soil. The most valuable practical de- 

Table VII. — Analysis of Artificial Grasses. 
{100 parts, as taken from the field.) 



Name of Plant. 



Red Clover, . . . 
Perennial Clover, 
Crimson Clover, . 
Cow Grass, . . . 
Cow Grass, 2d spec 
Hop Trefoil, . . 
White Clover, . . 
Common Vetch, . 
Sainfoin, .... 
Lucerne, or Alfalfa 
Black Medick, or Nonsuch, 



tl 

1 


o c 
ci a 

= « a 
< 

4.27 


1 


■3 _- 3 . 

life 


■a 

i 


81.01 


.69 


8.45 


3.76 


81.05 


3.64 


.78 


8.04 


4.91 


82.14 


2.96 


.67 


6.70 


5.78 


74.10 


6.30 


.92 


9.42 


6.25 


77.57 


4.22 


1.07 


11.14 


4.23 


83.48 


3.39 


.77 


7.25 


3.74 


79.71 


3.80 


.89 


8.14 


5.38 


82.90 


4.04 


.52 


6.75 


4.68 


76.64 


4.32 


.70 


10.73 


5.77 


69.95 


3.83 


.82 


13.62 


8.74 


76.E0 


5.70 


.94 


7.73 


6.32 



1.82 
1.58 
1.75 
3.01 
1.77 
1.37 
2.08 
1.11 
1.84 
3.04 
2.51 



EXAMINATION OF GRASSES. 



227 



ductions of a similar nature may be made by comparing 
these tables. 



Table VIII. — Analysis of Natural Grasses. 
parts of the grass dried at 212° Fahr.) 



(100 



Name of Grass. 



Sweet-scented Vernal Grass, 

Meadow Foxtail, 

Tall Oat Grass, 

Yellow Oat Grass, .... 
Downy Oat Grass, .... 

Quaking Grass, 

Upright Brome Grass, . . . 
Soft Brome Grass, .... 
Crested Dog's-tail, .... 

Orchard Grass, 

Orchard Grass, seeds ripe, . 
Hard Fescue Grass, .... 
Meadow Soft Grass, .... 
Meadow Barley Grass, . . 
Perennial Rye Grass, . . . 
Italian Rye Grass, .... 

Timothy, 

Annual Spear Grass, . . . 

June Grass, 

Rough-stalked Meadow, . . 
Irrigated Meadow Grass, . . 
Irrigated Meadow (2d crop), 

In the case of orchard grass and the irrigated meadow, 
in Table VIII., the seeds were ripened, and they should 
not, therefore, be compared with other grasses taken in 
the blossom, without considering this fact. It will be 
seen, too, that the specimens analyzed were in the dry 
state, much drier than they could be made by the ordi- 
nary process of hay-making ; for, however perfectly the 
hay is cured, it will still contain a very considerable per- 



eg, 

Hi 

< 


& 

a 

E 


ITcat-producin 
principles, — 
starch, sugar, 
gum, &c. 


2 

a 
<a 

1 


H 

is 

s 


10.43 


3.41 


43.48 


36.36 


6.32 


12.32 


2.92 


43.12 


33.83 


7.81 


12.95 


3.19 


38.03 


34.24 


11.59 


7.48 


2.61 


47.08 


35.95 


6.88 


7.97 


2.39 


49.78 


34.64 


5.22 


6.08 


3.01 


46.95 


35.30 


8.66 


9.44 


3.33 


82.02 


5.21 


17.29 


2.11 


38.66 


36.12 


5.82 


11.08 


3.54 


52.64 


26.36 


6.38 


13.53 


3.14 


44.32 


33.70 


6.31 


23.08 


1.66 


26.53 


43.32 


5.51 


12.10 


3.34 


40.43 


38.71 


5.42 


11.52 


3.56 


39.25 


39.30 


6.37 


11.17 


2.30 


46.68 


31.67 


6.18 


11.85 


3.17 


42.24 


35 20 


7.54 


10.10 


3.27 


57.82 


19.76 


9.05 


11.36 


3.55 


53.35 


26.46 


5.28 


11.83 


3.42 


51.70 


30.22 


2.83 


10.35 


2.63 


43.06 


38.02 


5.94 


&.80 


3.67 


40.17 


38.03 


8.33 


25.91 


6.53 


32.05 


25.14 


10.37 


10.92 


2.06 


43.90 


34.30 


8.82 



228 



THE CLOVEES ANALYZED. 



centage of water, and, if artificially dried, as in the 
trials given above, and then exposed to the air, it will 
absorb from 10 to 15 per cent, of water, showing that 
no hay is absolutely dry by any ordinary processes. In 
England, the percentage of Avater in well-made hay is 
about 16, and hay artificially dried will absorb that 
amount, if exposed again to the air. I do not think the 
percentage here would be so large, for obvious reasons. 
In the analysis of the hay of the reed canary grass, 
made by Professor Horsford, and given on a preceding 
page, the percentage was but 10.24. That was a Avell- 
cured specimen, taken after it had passed the period of 
blossoming, and the amount of water is, perhaps, slightly 
below the average. 

It will be seen that a great difference exists in the 
valuable constituents of the grasses. 

Lowest. 

Flesh-forming principles 6.08 

Fat-producing principles, .... 2.11 
Heat-giving principles, 38.03 



Highest. 


Average. 


17.29 


11.68 


3.67 


2.89 


57.82 


47.92 



Table IX. — Analysis of Artificial Grasses. 
100 parts of the grass dried at 212° Fahr.) 



{In 



Name of Plant. 



Red Clover, 

Perennial Clover, . . . 
Crimson Clover, . . . 

Cow Grass, 

Cow Grass, 2d specimen, 

Hop Trefoil, 

White Clover, .... 
Common Vetch, . . . 

Sainfoin 

Lucerne, or Alfalfa, . . 
Black Medick, .... 



o be 
a 

£<ca 


1 
1 


J, = ^ c 

UA7 


2 

1 


22.55 


3.67 


19.75 


19.18 


4.09 


42.42 


25.96 


16.60 


3.73 


37.50 


32.39 


24.33 


3.57 


36.36 


24.14 


18.77 


4.77 


49.65 


18.84 


20.48 


4.67 


43.86 


22.66 


18.76 


4.38 


40.04 


26.53 


23.61 


3.06 


39.45 


27.38 


18.45 


3.01 


45.96 


24.71 


12.76 


2.76 


40.16 


34.21 


24.60 


4.06 


33.31 


27.19 



9.56 
8.35 
9.78 

11.60 
7.97 
8.33 

10.29 
6.50 
7.87 

10.11 

10.84 



PRACTICAL VALUE OF A GRASS. 229 

A glance at this table will show that the different 
principles in the artificial grasses vary, to a great 
extent, as follows : 

Lowest. Highest. Average. 

Flesh-forming principles, .... 12.76 24.60 18.68 

Fat-producing principles, . . . . 2.76 4.77 3.76 

Heat-giving principles, 33.31 49.65 41.48 

The difference in composition exhibited in the natural 
grasses of Table VIII. is very marked, and of course 
the value of the grasses as compared with each other 
must vary greatly. Still, the practical value of a grass 
depends somewhat upon circumstances which cannot 
be analyzed, such as the period at which it arrives at 
maturity, and the particular soil and location of the 
farmer. It might happen that a grass, not in itself so 
rich in nutritive qualities as another, would be preferred, 
on account of its coming to maturity just at the time 
when the farmer most needed it. But this table shows 
the comparative nutritive qualities of the grasses, since 
all the specimens were collected and investigated in the 
same manner, at the same period of growth, — or as 
nearly as possible, — when in the flower, so that, what- 
ever sources of error might exist to modify the results, 
they would naturally apply to all alike. 

The grasses from the irrigated meadow consisted 
principally of June, or Kentucky blue grass, rough- 
stalked meadow grass, perennial rye grass, meadow soft 
grass, barley grass, meadow oat grass, and a few other 
species ; and it will be noticed that in combination they 
abound in flesh and fat forming principles to a greater 
extent than we should be led to suppose from the 
composition of any one of them alone. 

Our cultivated Timothy compares very favorably with 
the other grasses, containing a less percentage of use- 
less matter, as woody fibre, than any other, except Ital- 
20 



230 COMPOSITION OF TIMOTHY. 

ian rye grass and crested dog's-tail, a grass not com- 
mon with us, and the irrigated grasses. In point of 
soluble, heat-producing principles, sugar, gum, and 
starch, it is surpassed by the Italian rye grass, but by 
no others. The anal3^ses of this grass in its green and 
dry states in Tables VI. and VIII. fully justify the prefer- 
ence which we have long shown for the use of Timo- 
thy ; for, as taken from the field at the time of blossom- 
ing, it will be found to contain less water, a greater 
percentage of flesh and fat forming principles, and less 
useless matter in the shape of woody fibre, than most 
of the other grasses. The deductions of science cer- 
tainly correspond, in this case, with the results of 
practice. 

A comparison of Tables VI. and VIII. with Tables 
VII. and IX. will show the comparative advantages of 
the use of the artificial grasses, in point of albuminous 
or flesh-forming principles, and fatty matters. The car- 
bonaceous or heat-producing principles remain nearly 
the same throughout, while the percentage of waste 
matter or woody fibre is less than in the natural grasses. 
This is an important fact, worthy of the careful consid- 
eration of the farmer. 

In the sixth column of Table VIII. will be found the 
percentage of ash of each of the grasses analyzed. 
Table X. contains a still further analysis of this ash, 
which gives all the inorganic constituents Aviiich the 
plant derives from the soil and the manures furnished 
to it. It is important and suggestive to one who will 
examine it carefully, as indicating the kind of manure 
which in many cases it may be desirable to apply, while 
it will throw still further light upon the practical and 
comparative values of each species which the fixrmer 
proposes to cultivate, by showing the extent to which 
it will be likely to exhaust the soil. 



SUBSTANCES TAKEN FROM THE SOIL, 



231 



Table X, — Analysis of the Ash of some of the 
Natural and Artifical G-rasses. 



Common Name 


li 

.Hi 
P 


1 
38.75 


•3 

'i 

•E 

o 

"3. 
1 

625 


1 
% 

2.16 


2 
1 

5 

.65 


1 
3.90 


.2 

1 

1 


£ 


■a 

1 

11^ 


1 




ts'i 

9,50 


Cm 

.-5 5 

S 




Meadow Foxtail, . 


. . . 7.81 


1.28 .47 


37.03 


_ 


Sweet-scented Verna 


1, . . 6.32 28.36 


10.09 


3.39 


1.26 


9.212.53 1.18 


32.03 




7.03 


4.90 


Downy Oat Grass, 


. . . 5.2236.2S 


10.82 


3.37 


- 


4.723.17 .72'31.21 


- 


4 05 


5.66 


Upright Broiue Gras 


s, . 5.2138.48 


7.53 


5.46 


.55 


10.38 4.99 .26 20.33 


- 


1063 


1.38 


Soft Brome Grass, 


. . . 5-8233.34 


9.62 


4.91 


9.07 


6.642.60 .2830.09 


.33 


- 


3,11 


Crested Dog's-tail, 


. . . 6.38 40.11 


7.24 


3.20 




10 16 2.43 .18 24.99 


- 


1160 


- 


Orchard Grass, . . 


. . . 531 


26.65 


8.60 


3.52 


2.09 


5.82 2.22i .59 29 62 


- 


17.86 


3.09 


Orchard Grass, with 
ripe, 


^'^^' 5.51 


32.18 


6.41 


3.96 


2.88 


1 1 
8.14 3.47 .23 


33.06 


- 


4.87 


4.76 


Hard Fescue Grass, 


. . 5.42 


28.53 


12.07 


3.45 


1.38 


10.31:2.83 .78 


31.84 


- 


817 


.62 


Meadow Soft Grass, 


. . . 6.37 


28.31 


8.02 


4.41 


1.82 


8.313.41 .31 


34.83 


- 


3.91 


6.66 


Meadow Barley Gra 


s, . 5.67 


56.23 


6.04 


4 29 


- 


5.04 2.42' .66 


20.26 


3.40 


- 


1.66 


Perennial Rye Gras 


i, . . T.S4 


27.13 


8.73 


5 20 


.49 


9.642.85 .21 


24,67 


- 


13.80 


7.25 


Annual Speur Grass 


. . 2.83 


16.03 


9.11 


10.18 


3.29 


11.69 2.44167 


41.86 


- 


.47 


3.35 


June Grass, . . . 


. . 5.94 


32.93 


10.02 


4.26 


.40 


5.63 2.71' .28 


31.17 


- 


1125 


131 


Uough-stalked Meai 
Grass, . . • . . 


'"l". '^-'^ 


37.50 


9.13 


4.47 


.29 


8.80^3.22! .29 


29.40 


- 


6.90 


- 


Timothy, .... 


. . 5.29 


31.09 


11.29 


4.86 


4.02 


14.945.30 .27 


24 25 


_ 


.70 


3.24 


Annual Rye Grass, 


. , 6.45 


41.79 


10.07 


3.45 


- 


6.822.59 .28 


28 99 


.87 


_ 


5.11 


Yellow Oat Grass, 


. . 5.28 


35.20 


9.31 


4 00 


- 


7.983.072.40 


36.06 


.73 


_ 


1.25 


Red Clover, . . . 


. . 9.56 


.69 


6.71 


1.85 


23.47 


22.62'4.08 .26 


36,45 


_ 


2.39 


1.53 


W hite Clover, . . 


. . 


3.68 


11.53 


7.21 


18.03 26.41 8.151 96 


1433 


3.72 


_ 


4.95 


Sainfoin in flower. 


. . 6.37 


3.22 


9.35 


3.28 


15.20 24.30 5.03 61 


31,90 


- 


6.24 


.78 


Sainfoin in seed, . 


. . 6.50 


3.49 


7.97 


2.33 


17.36 29 67 4.59 


.58 


29.61 


1.25 


_ 


3.12 


Italian Rye Grass in 


3ower, 6.97 59.18 


6 34 


2.82 


- 1 9.95i2.23 


.78 


12.45 


3.98 


_ 


2.27 


Italian Rye Grass in 


seed, 6.4060.62 6,32 


1.31 


- I1229I2.64 .30 


10.77 


.13 


- 5.58 



A careful examination of the analyses of the ash, or 
the inorganic constituents of the grasses, will reveal 
the fact that some important substances are taken from 
the soil in large quantities, and if the grass is removed 
in the form of hay, that these must in some way be 
restored in manure, or exhaustion will follow. Among 
these are large percentages of silica, which is taken up 
in solution with water. Phosphoric acid is removed in 
large (Quantities, generally found in combination with 



232 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL. 

lime, magnesia or iron. The amount of potash is also 
very large, and it is found in combination with silicic 
acid. 

Take the most careful analyses of the grasses as the 
basis of calculation, and it will appear that the weight of 
silicates, phosphates, and potash, removed from the 
soil in every ton of hay, is not less than one hundred 
and fifty pounds. Supposing, then, that the crop of 
hay averages two tons to the acre, — and it will rarely 
fall below this on good soils and under fair cultivation, 
— and it appears that about three hundred pounds of 
these valuable substances are abstracted from the soil 
of every acre so cropped, and this course of culture 
could not long continue without the return of these 
constituents to the soil. And hence the manures re- 
quired for these lands are such as contain these sub- 
stances, such as ashes, lime, and other applications rich 
in silicates, phosphates, and potash. 

Lime is found in much less quantities than potash in 
most of the grasses, but the relative proportions differ 
in diiferent species. In orchard grass, for instance, the 
lime amounts to only 5.82 per cent., while the amount 
of potash is 29.52. But in Timothy the lime amounts 
to nearly 15 per cent., and the potash to over 24. Soda 
is found in considerable quantities in some species, and 
is wanting in most. 

No one of the grasses appears to be better adapted 
to supply the wants of animals than Timothy. Its 
amount of phosphates is larger than that of any other. 

The amount of water in the stem is greater than in 
the leaf, so that the percentage of nutriment is greater 
in the leaf and flower stalk or panicle than in the stem. 
It has been found, by actual and often repeated experi- 
ments, that grass loses more than half of its weight of 
water in curing; and it never becomes so dry, by any 



COMPOSITION OF SEDGES. 233 

of the ordinary modes of curing, as to lose all its water. 
It has already been remarked that the average percent- 
age of water found in well-cured hay, in England, is 
about sixteen, and in this country from ten to four- 
teen per cent, of water will always be found in sun- 
dried hay. 

The water or aquatic grasses, and the swamp sedges, 
contain a much larger percentage of water than the 
upland grasses, while their amount of ash, or inorganic 
constituents, is proportionally small. They are not, 
therefore, valuable for fodder, though, as I have said, 
they are often eaten, especially in spring, or when they 
are succulent and tender. 

The following analysis, by Salisbury, of the soft rush 
(Juncus effusus), will serve as an example of the com- 
position of many of this class of plants. The stalk, cut 
in a swamp on the 22d of June, weighed 46 grains. It 
contained 



46.586 


per 


cent. 


of water ; 




53.414 


(< 


« 


" dry matter ; 




0.978 


«» 


(( 


" ash ; 




1.831 


" 


<< 


" ash calculated 


dry; 



while the organic matter calculated dry amounted to 

98.169. The proportion of inorganic matter, it will be 

seen, was very small. 

The slender club-rush (Eleocharis tenuis) shows a 

somewhat similar composition. It was cut in blossom, 

and had of 

Water, 38.241. 

Dry matter, 61.759. 

Ash, 2.663. 

The ash calculated dry was found to be 4.312 per 
cent., and the organic matter calculated dry to be 
95.688 per cent. 

A comparison of the analyses of the ash of the nat- 
ural and artificial grasses will reveal the fact that the 
20* 



234 



LIME-PLANTS. 



latter contain a very much larger amount of lime and 
potash than the former, and for this reason they have 
very properly been denominated lime-plants. It will 
be seen also, from their composition, that phosphoric 
acid forms an important ingredient in them, while the 
silica is very small, comparatively. The removal of a 
clover crop, therefore, without applying suitable ma- 
nures, will exhaust the soil quite as much as a crop of 
the cultivated grasses, though of different constituents. 
A soil, to bear good clover crops, requires a considera- 
ble ingredieait of lime, potash, and phosphates, and with- 
out the application of these manures in some form or 
other they will inevitably run out. Plaster of Paris, 
lime, and ashes leached and unleached, applied to clover 
soils, are always followed with good effects. 



Table XI. — Analysis of Specimens of Weeds, as 

TAKEN FROM THE FIELD, AND WHEN DRIED. 



Name of Plant. 



Ox-eye Daisy (Crysanthevium leucan- 

themum), 

Yellow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris), 
Sorrel {Rumex acetosa), 

DRIED SPECIMENS OF THE SAME. 

Ox-eye Daisy, 

Buttercup, 

Sorrel 



June 23, 

June 13, 
July 4, 



71.85 

88.15 
75.37 



^S 
^ 



1.18 
1.90 

7.53 
9.98 
7.71 



.507 
.545 

3.49 

4.28 
2.19 






6.26 
7.62 



10.51 

3.00 
13.04 

37.33 
52 69125.34 
46.82 37 16 



1.86 

.91 
1.51 



6.63 

7.71 
6.12 



If now we cast our eye at the analyses of some of 
our common weeds, we shall see how far superior the 
cultivated grasses are in nitrogenous or nutritive prin- 
ciples. 

The albuminous principles are very much less than 
in either the natural or the artificial grasses. 



NUTRITIVE EQUIVALENTS. 235 

A line of investigation, both scientific and practical, 
equally interesting and valuable with the foregoing, 
would lead into the comparative nutritive equivalents 
of hay and other feeding substances. This is not the 
place to discuss that subject in full, the line of our pres- 
ent inquiry embracing only the comparative nutritive 
i values of the grasses themselves. For convenience of 
reference,however, I subjoin the following Table (XII.), 
embracing the results of the profoundest researches of 
many distinguished chemists and practical men, both in 
the laboratory and the barn. Boussingault and others, in 
France, and Fresenius, Thaer, and others, in Germany, 
have devoted to these and similar investigations the 
best part of their lives. 

It is necessary to remark that tables of nutritive 
equivalents are liable to imperfections, on account of 
sources of error which must exist in the nature of 
things, as difference of soil, climate, season, imperfec- 
tion of methods of analyses, &c. ; but, making all allow- 
ance for these, and admitting that the table cannot be 
absolutely and literally correct or perfect, it possesses 
great practical value and interest, as giving a good gen- 
eral idea of the relative value for feeding purposes of 
various agricultural products. 

In regard to the nutritive value, as based on the 
amount of nitrogen or nitrogenous compounds, it may 
be remarked that the latest and most careful experi- 
ments, conducted by most experienced and competent 
experimenters, tend to show that this basis is correct, 
so far as it can be applied to substances so analogous 
in composition that they can be included in one group ; 
as, for example, the different root crops possess a nutri- 
tive value in proportion to the amount of nitrogen they 
contain, but the nutritive value of a root ought not 
to be compared with a succulent plant, hke clover 



236 



TABLE OF EQUIVALENTS. 



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POSSIBLE SOURCE OP ERROR. 237 

for instance, by the proportion of nitrogen in each, 
merely, without taking into consideration other prop- 
erties. In other words, roots may be compared with 
each other on that basis merely, and grasses with each 
other, and leguminous plants with each other, but not 
root crops and grasses. This fact is alluded to as a 
possible source of error in some of the earlier researches 
of Boussingault, and not as materially affecting the prac- 
tical value of the table. 

The mode of using Table XII. is very simple. Good 
upland meadow hay — or what would be called in New 
England good English hay — is taken as a standard of 
comparison. Now, if we wished to produce the same 
results with carrots as with one hundred pounds of 
good, average English hay, we must use, according to 
Boussingault's column of equivalents, 382 pounds of 
carrots, or for each pound of hay 3.82 pounds of car- 
rots ; and, according to the practical experiments men- 
tioned, 366 pounds, 250 pounds, 225 pounds, 300 pounds, 
and so on, to each 100 pounds of hay. 

According to the theoretical values of Boussingault, 
100 pounds of hay are equal in feeding qualities to 65 
pounds of barley, 60 pounds of oats, 58 pounds of rye, 
or 55 pounds of wheat. While, according to the exper- 
iments of Thaer, 100 pounds of hay produced the same 
effect as 76 pounds of barley, 86 pounds of oats, 71 
pounds of rye, 64 pounds of wheat. 

With regard to the analyses of Tables VI., VII., VIII., 
and IX., some slight allowance should perhaps be made 
for difference of climate, since it is well known that 
grasses, as well as other plants, grown rapidly in a hot 
sun, which we usually have in the months of May, June, 
and July, contain a much larger amount of nutritive and 
saccharine matter than those grown slower, and in a 
greater amount of available moisture both in the atmos- 



238 EFFECT OF CLIMATE. 

phere and the soil, which is ordinarily present in the 
climate of England. Every observing farmer knows 
that grasses grown on our low, reclaimed swamp lands, 
for instance, make less milk, and less flesh and fat in 
animals, than the same species grown on our dry, up- 
land soils. The same difi'erence must exist, to some 
extent, between our grasses and the grasses grown in 
a comparatively moist climate, where they have the 
advantage of more frequent rains, which push them to 
a more complete development and give them greater 
luxuriance, increasing, of course, the quantity of their 
produce, while their quahty cannot be improved in the 
points alluded to. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE CLIMATE AND SEASONS, AND THEIR INFLU- 
ENCE ON THE GRASSES. 

We now come to consider the influence of climate 
upon the quantity and nutritive quahty of the grasses. 

No crop is more dependent on the seasons than the 
grasses. Every farmer knows that a moist spring, with 
rains evenly distributed over the months of April, May, 
and June, will insure him the most luxuriant crops of 
grass and hay ; and he knows, also, that a dry, cold 
spring is fatal to their rapid and healthy development, 
and that he must, in such a spring, expect a compara- 
tively small crop. These and many similar facts are 
familiar to every one. 

It has also been found by observation that the grasses 
will vegetate when the temperature of the air is above 
the freezing point of water (32° Fahrenheit), provided 
the temperature of the soil ranges from 35° to 40°, 
while a lower temperature checks tlieir growth. Vege- 
tation, at temperatures higher than these, depends much 
on the amount of moisture and heat, both of the soil and 
the atmosphere. 

Grass will not vegetate when the temperature of 
the air is higher than 66°, unless the soil is very moist. 
When the vapor of the air is at its maximum, or when 
the air is saturated with moisture, vegetation advances 
with the greatest rapidity ; and this most frequently 
happens with us in the earlier growing months, April, 
May, and June. But when the moisture in the atmos- 

(239) 



240 CONDITIONS OF GROWTH. 

phere is slight, and the soil becomes dry, and the sub- 
soil is porous, the turf of our fields and pastures suffers 
from drought, and scarcely a year passes over us when 
this does not happen. 

A writer in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural 
Society, after many careful observations, comes to the 
conclusion, First, That the growth of grass is always 
proportionate to the heat of the air, if a sufficiency of 
moisture be present in the atmosphere. Second, That 
in the climate of England the moisture present is rarely 
sufiicient to allow the temperature to have full effect 
w^hen that temperature exceeds 56° ; but that, if moisture 
be artificially supplied, as by irrigation, to catch-water 
meadows, that then vegetation will still proceed in pro- 
portion to the heat. Third, That when the temperature 
of the air is between 36° and 41°, the grass will only 
vegetate with a fifth part of the force that it will when 
the temperature is 56°. Thus the land that will keep 
ten sheep per acre, in the latter case, will only keep two 
in the former. That from 41° to 46° its growth is two- 
fifths, or double that of its growth when the tempera- 
ture is under 41°, and it will then keep four sheep 
instead of two. Again, from 46° to 50°, its growth will 
rise to seven-tenths, or it will keep on the same ground 
from five to seven sheep ; and from 50° to 56°, it gene- 
rally — unless assisted by an artificial addition of moist- 
ure — arrives at its maximum; but if the month of 
June be very moist, it will continue to grow with an 
increase of force up to 60°. 

Oar climate is very different from that of England. 
The evaporation from the soil is ordinarily very much 
more rapid, and the actual amount of moisture in the 
air is greater, since it is well established that the evap- 
oration is in proportion to the height of the tempera- 
ture and the extent of water or land surface ; that in 



MOISTURE AND DRYNESS. 241 

the temperate zones it amounts to about thirty-seven 
inches a year, Avhile in the tropics it rises to from 
ninety to one hundred inches, and that the atmosphere 
when at the freezing point contains about a two-hun- 
dredth part of its weight of Avater, while at 52° it con- 
tains a hundredth part, or twice as much ; at 74°, a fif- 
tieth part, or four times as much, and at 98°, a twenty- 
fifth part, or eight times as much, and so on in that 
ratio. 

Now, although the mean annual temperature of the 
two countries is about the same, — it being near London 
about 48° 5', and at Boston 48° 9', — yet the tempera- 
ture of the growing months of the two countries pre- 
sents a marked difference, the mean temperature of 
every one being with us much higher. But the climate 
of England is proverbially moist, notwithstanding that 
the mean annual fall of rain near London is only little 
over twenty-five inches, while the quantity which falls 
at Boston is over fort3'-two inches ; at Charleston, S. 
C, over forty-five inches ; at Savannah, in Georgia, 
over fifty-three inches, and at Mobile, Alabama, over 
sixty inches. 

The amount of sensible moisture of the atmosphere 
is greater in England than here, though the actual 
amount existing in our atmosphere must exceed that of 
the atmosphere even in the eastern part of England. 
Our soil is consequently drier, and unless we have 
frequent rains vegetation suffers sooner, and the growth 
of grass is liable to be checked for the Avant of moist- 
ure, and this actually happens more or less nearly every 
year. 

It is plain that the diff"erences in climate that influ- 
ence and control the growth of the grasses are chiefly 
moisture and dryness. Moisture must exist either in 
the soil or the atmosphere. It is also clear that a lux- 

21 



242 INFLUENCE OF RAINS. 

viriant growth of grass depends not so much upon the 
aggregate annual quantity of rain that falls as upon its 
distribution over the year, and especially over the 
growing months. A frequent rain in spring, though it 
may come in small quantities, causes a rapid and suc- 
culent growth ; but it may be laid down as a well-fixed 
principle, that the grass crop is better from large 
quantities of rain falling at once and at longer inter- 
vals, — provided it does not come in torrents to pros- 
trate the crop, and that the intervals are not so long as 
to produce droughts, which are always attended with 
deleterious effects, — than from smaller quantities fall- 
ing with greater frequency. The quantity in the latter 
case will not ordinarily be so great as in the former, 
but it is more than compensated, it is thought, by the 
increased value. The fact that grasses grown in a dry 
season possess greater nutritive and fattening qualities 
is well known to every practical farmer. 

So great is the dependence of the grasses upon heat 
and moisture combined, that, knowing the results of 
observations of the thermometer and the rain-gauge in 
any section, during the three growing months of April, 
Ma3% and June, one might predict with great certainty 
the results of the harvest in that section ; and, on the 
other hand, the yield of grass and hay, as stated by 
practical formers in different sections of the country, 
would indicate so clearly and uniformly the excess 
above the average, or the partial failure of the crop, 
that a meteorological map of that section might be con- 
structed from their statements. 

Before proceeding further in this investigation, it is 
proper to remark that, in order to bring together the 
practical wisdom and judgment of some of the best 
farmers in the country, as well as to be able to present 
some statistical iiil'ormation in regard to the product of 



QUESTIONS ON THE GRASSES. 243 

grass and hay for that season, I directed the following 
circular to one or more farmers in every town in Mas- 
sachusetts, and to many individuals in other states, 
asking for replies from each : 

Agricultural Department, State House, } 
Boston, Sept, 1, 1856. 5 

Dear Sir : Will you have the goodness to reply to 
the following inquiries in reference to the grass and 
hay crop of your town, according to the best of your 
judgment and experience ? If circumstances prevent 
your giving it personal attention, will you be kind 
enough to put it into the hands of some one interested 
in the subject in your neighborhood who will do me 
the favor to answer it ? 

1. What was the estimated yield of grass and hay in 
your town this season, as compared with others? If 
above or below the average, how much ? 

2. What, in your opinion, is the effect of a wet or a 
dry season on the quality of grass and hay? Is grass 
grown in the shade as good as that grown in the sun, 
and what is the difference ? [This question embraces 
the intrinsic value of hay this season as compared with 
the crops of 1854 and 1855, both comparatively dry 
seasons, while this has been unusually wet in most 
parts of the country.] 

3. In what month do you prefer to seed down land 
designed for mowing, and what is the reason of your 
preference ? 

4. What varieties of grass-seed do you usually sow 
for moAving, and what for permanent pasturage, and in 
what quantities and proportions per acre ? 

5. Do you prefer to sow grass-seed alone in either 
case, or with some variety of grain? If the latter, why, 
and with what grain ? 



244 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

6. Have you cultivated or raised orchard, fowl 
meadow, or blue joint grasses, and with what result 
as compared with the yield and value of other grasses ? 

7. At what stage of growth do you prefer to cut 
grass to make into English and into swale hay, and 
what is the reason for your preference ? 

8. What is the best mode of making hay from Timo- 
thy, from redtop, and from wet meadow grass, and at 
what state of dryness do you consider it made, or fit to 
get into the barn? [This question embraces, to some 
extent, the time taken to make it under ordinary cir- 
cumstances of good weather, &c. This, of course, 
varies greatl}^, but some firmers would dry grass cut 
in the blossom two good hay-days, while others would 
prefer to cure it less, and get it in on the day it was 
cut.] 

9. Will you state in detail how you make or cure 
clover ; and how, when so cured, it compares in value 
with other kinds of hay to feed out to farm stock? 

10. Have you used hay caps ; and if so, with what 
result, in point of economy ? How were they made, 
and at what cost? 

11. Have you used a mowing machine ; and if so, 
what patent, with what power, and with what advan- 
tage ? ^ 

12. At what height from the ground do you prefer to 
have your grass cut, and why ? 

13. Have you used a horse-rake ; and if so, what 
patent, and with what advantage ? 

14. Do you feed off the after growth of your mowing 
lands in the fall ? Do you think it an injury or a benefit 
to the field to feed it off? 

15. Do you top-dress your mowing or pasture lands ; 
'^ and if so, what manure do you prefer to use, at what 

time, and in what quantities do you apply it ? 



CIRCULAR ON THE GRASSES. 245 

16. What is the best mode of renovating old worn- 
out pasture lands ? 

17. If" you have any experience in ditching and drain- 
ing wet meadow, or ditching or diking salt marsh, will 
you state the result, and the comparative value of the 
grass before and after the operation ? 

18. What are the most valuable varieties of salt- 
marsh grasses^ and how does the hay made from them 
compare in value with good English hay ? 

19. Have you any experience in irrigating mowing 
or pasture lands; and if so, what is the result? ^ 

20. Do you prefer to salt your hay when putting 
into the barn ; and if so, what quantity do you use per 
ton? 

21. What do you consider the best mode of destroy- 
ing couch or twitch grass? 

22. What is the best mode of destroying the white 
weed or ox-eye daisy ? 

23. Will you give any other details not suggested by 
the above, which, in your opinion, may be considered 
important, in regard to this crop ; and particularly, if 
you have experimented with any varieties of grass not in 
general cultivation, such as lucerne or alfalfa, rye grass, 
brome grass, Kentucky blue grass, &c., will you state 
the results as fully as possible ? If you have any varie- 
ties of grass found to be valuable, but not in general 
cultivation, the names of which are not known to you, 
will you send them to this office, where the names will 
be given ? 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Charles L. Flint, 
Secretary of the Board of Agriculture. 

I was indebted to the kindness of many enterprising 
and intelligent farmers for full and valuable answers 
21* 



246 EANGE OF CLIMATE. 

from more than two hundred towns in Massachusetts, 
and from several different states, and these alone would 
make a valuable volume of themselves. I can, of 
course, do no more than extract from them as freely as 
space will permit, which I shall do at greater length in 
subsequent chapters. 

The range of climate of the United States is so exten- 
sive, embracing, we may almost say, the tropical heats 
on the one hand, and the short summers and severe 
winters of the Canadas on the other, that the grasses 
adapted to one region would not even succeed in 
another. Some grasses which are eminently adapted to 
sandy soils of a moist climate will not grow on similar 
arid soils in a drier climate and under a hotter sun. 

Blodget, in a valuable article on the climatology of 
this country, makes the following judicious remarks, 
which I have somewhat condensed, on account of their 
length : 

As now cultivated (says he), or as relied upon in their 
natural growths, there are two well-marked divisions of 
American and naturalized grasses belonging to the dry 
and humid climates, respectively, of the whole United 
States. There is another distinction in the tempera- 
ture of moist climates, as the cultivated grasses do not 
go into the Avarmer portions of the country, however 
humid. The English grasses are the principal ones, 
embracing the genera Poa, Plileum, Festuca^ Agrostis, 
and Dactylis ; and their most striking peculiarity is the 
uniform turf they form in growth. Most of these are 
very well adapted to the climate of the Northern and 
Eastern States, and of the North Pacific coast ; and 
they here form the great reliance of cultivators. But 
they also approach their climatic limit here very nearly 
in both temperature and humidity, and prove their 
native position to be in a more equable climate. The 
winter of the upper parts of the New England States 
and of New York is sometimes destructive from low 



HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES. 247 

temperature alone, and the dry extremes are very- 
injurious, and sometimes absolutely destructive. What 
precise measures of low temperature destroy these 
grasses, it is difficult to say ; but every alternate year 
affords some locality in which the cold is so great as to 
destroy the Timothy and orchard grasses. A continu- 
ance of cold for some days below zero of Fahrenheit, 
and with a minimum of 20° below zero, is undoubtedly 
certain to be fatal, if the surface is exposed to the air, 
and is without protection by snow or otherwise. 

There is apparently little difference in the hardiness 
of the principal cultivated grasses in resisting the tem- 
perature extremes. Low temperature alone may 
destroy them in all the elevated portions of the New 
England States and New York, and in Wisconsin and 
some parts of Illinois. In most cases the destruction 
of the three principal grasses occurs at the same time, 
and no singling out of particular species is remarked. 

In the direction of high temperatures there appears 
no definite limit of this sort, or none depending on 
single extremes ; but all these grasses fail when the 
mean temperature of the summer months attains to 80°. 
They have but a variable and uncertain success in Vir- 
ginia, and in all the states south and westward they are 
still less reliable, or fail altogether. As they are all 
perennial in the highest sense, the whole year and all 
its extremes must be taken into the account. They 
cannot, as in the cereals, choose a portion of the year 
only, and adapt their requirement of time to the tem- 
perature. In this respect they differ most widely from 
a very important class of native grasses, which occupy 
the arid portions of the continent. 

In further notice of the limitations of the European 
grasses, the humidity of climate must be considered. 
The dry extremes of many of the states where they 
may generally succeed are quite injurious or destruc- 
tive in many cases, and this is especially true of the 
states at the West, where the soil is less tenacious and 
retentive than at the East. They fail to form the charac- 
teristic turf there, and are so much injured by those dry 



248 NORTHERN LIMIT OP GRASSES. 

periods as to become displaced, or to decay gradually, 
if not suddenly, and to require frequent renewal. This 
departure from the native climate of these grasses is so 
great at the plains beyond the Mississippi, as to require 
a wholly new class ; and the European forms there cease, 
to reappear only on the coast of the Pacific, in Oregon 
and Washington Territories, where the EngHsh climate 
is itself in some degree reproduced. 

The northern or low temperature limits of these 
grasses appear nearly identical with those of wheat ; 
and tlieir liability to destruction by the cold of winter 
alone, without regard to the lifting of the ])lant from 
the soil, as in the case with wheat on tenacious soils, 
does not greatly differ. The grasses will perhaps endure 
a few degrees lower temperature. 

The high temperature limits are nearly the same as 
with wheat also, taking the month of ripening for wheat 
as the highest temperature for any month of the year. 
The range of the English grasses is here little greater 
than that of wheat, in this definition. As in cultivation, 
they succeed when the mean temperature for July is 
75° to 78°, while the limit of wheat is little above"70° 
for the same month. In cultivation, without unusual 
care, they would not differ widely. 

There is a possible limit also in low summer tempera- 
tures, especially if accompanied with a large amount of 
moisture in the soil and atmosphere. We are not able 
to give as precise limits for the English climate in this 
respect as for wheat, though the grasses we have re- 
ceived from there will not go many degrees lower than 
wheat for the ripening period, — probably not lower 
than to 55° for the warmest month of summer, Avhile 
the same limit for wheat is above 57°. In the United 
States it ma}'- not go so low ; though the question is 
practicall}^ unimportant, as we have no districts below 
60° for July, In cold and wet localities of the North- 
ern States, the difficulty of preserving these grasses is 
well known ; and, as in other directions of limit, they 
fail gradually under measures of climatic disadvantage 
not absolutely destructive. 



GRASSES OF AN AEID CLIIIATE. 249 

The contrasted class of grasses adapted to arid cli- 
mates may advantageously be examined next, and these 
are all, or nearly all, natives of the interior and western 
portions of this continent, where they are required. 
Nutritious grasses of general range over the country 
of their origin are few in number, while those growing 
in particular localities, as in wet or sheltered spots, or 
in others not representing the general surface, are quite 
numerous everywhere. The principal of the new Amer- 
ican grasses is the bunch grass (Festuca), the buffalo 
grass, or small gramma, and the other species of gram- 
ma grass (Bouteloua). 

The range of these is, for the last, or the gramma 
grass proper, as given by Captain Marcy in his Report 
on the survey of Red River, "bounded on the north by 
near the parallel of 36° north latitude, and on the east 
by the meridian of 98° west longitude. It extends south 
and west indefinitely, but appears to flourish better in 
about the latitude of 33° than any other. As there is 
generally a drought on these prairies from about the 
first of May to the middle of August, it would appear 
that the particular varieties of grass growing here do 
not require much moisture to sustain them." 

The buffalo grass, or small gramma, extends at least 
to latitude 40° in the same longitude, and the asso- 
ciated species called mezquife, with this, cover the 
best portions of the valley of the Great Salt Lake, with 
the entire country south and west on which rains fall at 
any season. This whole family is extremely valuable, 
seeding profusely, and covering every portion of the 
country where sufficient rain for its growth may be 
found at any season. In the mountains a winter variety 
is found remaining fresh, while that of the plains and 
valleys is dried by the late summer heats. The whole 
class is admirably adapted to the requirement of the 
country, as they remain during the warmest months of 
summer, and until the rains of the next season come 
on, in a dried form, preserving the nutritive qualities 
throughout. 

The precise time at which the heat and aridit}^ check 



250 THE PRAIIIIE GHASSES. 

its growth, and convert it into dried hay, is not suffi- 
ciently known fur the different districts. It is probably 
controlled more by absence of water in the soil, and 
want of rain, than by temperature — the heat being 
sufficient for this purpose when the water wholly fails. 

Wislizenus, Emory, and Abert, met the smaller gram- 
ma, called the buffalo grass, at 38° north latitude, and 
by their references it might be inferred that this was 
the northern border at that degree of longitude. But 
Fremont found it at 40°, on the same meridian, and 98° 
west longitude, and near the Platte or Nebraska River. 
It probably extends still further northward, and over 
much of this great plain to the Missouri. There are no 
satisfactory notices of the grasses of this great region ; 
but the inference is reasonable that it should range 
nearly as fur as subsistence is afforded to the immense 
herds of buffalo occupying that area. The recent sur- 
veys north of the Missouri were, however, unable to 
find any considerable amount of it ; and Richardson was 
also unable to find the buffalo grass on the Saskatcha- 
wan, though at the time of his visit recent fires had 
destroyed the growth of all kinds. He remarks a large 
intermixture of carices with the festuca, and other true 
grasses, on all the northern portions of the prairie 
region. 

The new forms of valuable grasses found in this great 
range in our interior deserve the greatest attention in 
reference to their introduction in field cultivation. The 
native species of the prairie region, east of the Missis- 
sippi, probably cannot be cultivated — they give way 
too easily at the approach of cultivation, and those of 
the dry prairies are rarely found in seed. The. turf of 
this prairie growth is very strong and enduring; and 
in the native state these are valuable grasses, well 
adapted to the intermediate climates in Avhich they 
occur, where the humid and dry conditions pass into 
each other by gradual transition. These range over 
most of the countr}^ of the upper Missouri, as well as 
on the prairies eastward. 

There is a large district in the United States deficient 



CALIFORNIA GRASSES. 251 

in adaptation to our present cultivated grasses, to which 
it may be possible to bring those of the interior ulti- 
mately. The prairie districts of the states bordering 
the Mississippi, and the principal portion of the South- 
ern States, greatly need some better adaptations both 
to their soil and chmate. The new grasses of the south- 
west would probably not find a congenial climate in the 
Southern States, because of the excess of rain and of 
atmospheric humidity : but for the drier portions of 
the states in the upper Mississippi valley they may be 
found well suited. Some success has already attended 
efforts to introduce them. 

They are perennials of as great endurance in the turf, 
apparently, as the Bnglisli grasses, though they spread 
very slowly by the expansion of the root, and are re- 
ported to leave the centre of the concentric tufts in 
which they grow, open, as by decay of the original 
root. But all the gramma and associated grasses pro- 
duce seed largely, and under cultivation they might 
become all that could be desired as field grasses. 

In California valuable native grasses exist, in part of 
these and in part of other genera. There the climate 
is even more extreme in its contrasts, and some of the 
valuable grasses appear to be annuals. The bunch 
grass (festuoa) is abundant on the upland slopes and 
valleys, and it is there, as everywhere, of great value. 
Whether this may be cultivate(l is more problematical 
than in case of the gramma, and there has probably been 
no attempt at it yet. In the lower plains and valleys 
oat grasses and annuals form a larger share; but whether 
they are exclusive occupants is not sufficiently known. 
There is certainly a tendency towards a less perma- 
nently perennial character in most of the grasses of the 
South and West, and they approach the higher grami- 
naceous foi-ms which constitute the grains more nearly 
than those of northern origin, and the natives of humid 
climates. 

Bryant, in a work on California some years since, 
says of the grasses of that country: ''The varieties of 
grasses are greater than on the Atlantic side of the con- 



252 GRASSES OF THE INTERIOR. 

tinent, and they are also far more nutritious. I have 
seen seven different kinds of clover" (not analogous to 
the true clovers), " several of them in a dry state, depos- 
iting a seed upon the ground so abundant as to cover 
it, which is eaten by cattle, horses, and other animals, 
as corn and oats, when threshed, would be. All the 
grasses — and they cover the entire country — are 
heavily seeded, and when ripe are as fattening to stock 
as other grains." 

The grains are, indeed, the product of the great con- 
tinental interior of the Eastern continent, and belong to 
arid climates wholly in their original state. By analogy, 
we might look for high graminaceous forms in the inte- 
rior of this continent, but it is not known that any bread 
grain has had its origin in climates similar to our own. 
Maize is one of the grasses or higher graminaceous 
plants; but this had a tropical origin, and it is, wherever 
grown, of a purely tropical type. 

The grasses of the American interior are singular in 
all respects, and, so far as known, have no analogous 
forms in Asia. Too little is known, however, of the 
nutritious grasses of the interior of the Old World, to 
institute a comparison of its forms found in arid climates 
with those produced here. It may be briefly referred 
to as a most desirable point for investigation, however, 
and the continuance of the examination respecting cli- 
matic adaptation for the great interior area of our agri- 
culture is urged by the strongest consideration of both 
private and national economy, 

Fremont remarks of the value of these indigenous 
grasses, as found in his earlier expedition to the Great 
Basin and to Oregon : " The grazing capabilities of this 
region are great, and in the indigenous grasses an ele- 
ment of individual and national wealth may be found. 
In fact, the valuable grasses begin within one hundred 
and fifty miles of the Missouri frontier, and extend to 
the Pacific Ocean. East of the Rocky IMountains, it is 
the short curly grass, on which the buffalo delight to 
feed (whence its name of buffalo grass), and which is 
still good when dry and apparently dead. West of the 



GRASSES OF THE SOUTH. 253 

mountains it is a larger growth, in clusters, and hence 
called hunch grass. This has a second or fall growth. 
Plains and mountains both exhibit them, and I have 
seen good pasturage at an elevation of ten thousand 
feet. In this spontaneous product the trading or trav- 
elling caravans can find subsistence for their animals ; 
and in military operations any number of cavalry may 
be moved, and any number of cattle may be driven, 
and thus men and horses supported on long expedi- 
tions, and even in winter in the sheltered situations." 

Little allusion has so far been made to the grasses 
fitted to the climate of the humid districts of the South. 
These have an essentially different requirement from 
either the arid regions of the interior and south-west, 
or the debatable ground between these and the other 
extreme in the cool and humid climates of the north and 
east. From these last they of course differ still more 
widely. 

Experiment has very satisfactorily proved the impos- 
sibility of carrying the English and northern grasses 
under the excessive temperatures found in the South- 
ern States. Both the temperature and humidity, or 
the joint effect of these rather, preclude their growth 
entirely, though it is difficult to say whether either 
condition alone would so preclude it. Comparing the 
more humid climntes of England with those of equally 
high saturation of the South, we might infer that tem- 
perature alone caused the difference ; but positions in 
the states near the 39th parallel of latitude have temper- 
atures in summer quite equal to those near the Gulf, 
and yet permit a considerable success in the growth of 
English grasses. 

Agriculturists at the South have scarcely been suc- 
cessful in the attention hitherto given to the introduc- 
tion of valuable grasses. Their cultivation is less a 
necessity of plantation management than of farm- occu- 
pation, as at the North, and it only becomes imperatively 
such when the preservation of the soil from washing and 
exhaustion becomes necessary. Such is, at present, the 
state of much of the cultivated area at the South, and it 
22 



254 DIFFICULTY OF FORMING TURF. 

is of the first importance to know whether the perma- 
nent grass covering of the soil may be attained hy any 
possible means. 

The normal range of the grasses, strictly speaking, is 
not so far south. Their native climates are north of 
the native grain districts, and in cooler and more humid 
atmospheres ; while the southern part of the United 
States has a tropical summer, and lies on the opposite 
side of the climatological limit. We cannot anticipate 
success in grasses taken from the colder extreme in this 
opposite position, and probably very little for those 
adapted to dry climates, whether warm or cold. The 
source should be tropical or semi-tropical; and such 
has, indeed, been the origni of many species introduced 
and cultivated to some extent at the South. The 
Guinea grass [Sorghum vidgare) is of this sort, and 
the Bermuda grass [Cynodon dactylon). The last is 
much like the cane in its root and habit of growth, and 
both are purely tropical forms. The sugar-cane is itself 
frequently cultivated as a grass, with success, and all 
these are more easily cultivated as forage plants, to be 
used for pasturao-e and soiling only, than as dried in the 
form of hay. The succulent character of the growth 
scarcely permits curing ; and the mixture of " winter 
grasses," or the coarser festucas often cultivated there 
for their winter's produce, of which the gramma grass 
and the technical " winter grass " are the principal, will, 
ultimately, be necessary to answer the end proposed in 
their grass cultivation, and indispensable, indeed, to 
their agricultural prosperity. The gramma grass of 
Texas and New Mexico may bear a considerable exten- 
sion over the drier soils and least humid portions of the 
South, and it has already been introduced with some 
success. 

It has been found extremely difficult to form a close 
turf or sward below the latitudes of the more equa- 
ble distribution of rain ; and this is the case south of 
Baltimore, in latitude 39" 18', owing to the excessive and 
often long-continued heat and drought. Even lucerne, 



EFFECT OP SHADE. 255 

which grows in great perfection in the south of France, 
is very unrehable south of Philadelphia, from the heat, 
and north of it from the cold. 

The growth of grass south of the parallel of 39° is 
similar to that on the dry and arid sands in higher north- 
ern latitudes. Most of the higher English grasses fail, 
in such situations, to form a close turf, and give place 
to the tufted or jungle grasses, or to such as refuse to 
grow in close companionship with others. In going 
west from the Mississippi River a close-cultivated turf is 
rare ; and the same is the case, as ah-eady seen, south 
of Washington, or perhaps south of Baltimore, and of 
the line running west from there to the Mississippi. 
The clovers may be cultivated to some extent ; but, 
though vakiable as forage plants, they become poor 
substitutes for the close and beautiful sward of a cooler 
climate. In California several species of medicago are 
highly esteemed, and are known under the general terra 
of " California clover." 

It must be evident, from Avhat has been said, that the 
climate of the United States is not so well adapted, as 
a whole, to bring the higher grasses to perfection, as 
that of England. A moist and equable climate is best 
adapted to all this class of plants, — that is, to promote 
their rich luxuriance of growth. The nutritive quali- 
ties of grasses groAvn under greater heat and a drier 
climate are, undoubtedly, superior ; and this is a fact 
familiar to every observing farmer. Grass grown in a 
wet season, or very moist climate, bears a striking re- 
semblance to that grown under the shade of trees. 

The remarks of a practical farmer of Kentucky well 
express the general estimate made by most farmers in 
reply to the second question proposed in the circular 
given on a preceding page. "Just so far," says he, "as 
there is shade, is the c:rass deficient in saccharine and 



256 HEAT AND MOISTURE. 

nutritious qualities ; that grass which is most exposed 
to the sun being best. Woodland pastures will keep 
young stock growing, and old ones on foot, but will 
not fatten them. A three-year-old Durham will get 
'stall fat' in a year on open blue grass." 

A farmer of Massachusetts says : " Grass grown in 
the shade is lighter, and does not contain so much nutii- 
ment. Wet seasons increase the weight and bulk of the 
crop ; but the same weight does not contain the amount 
of nutritive matter of hay raised in a dry season." And 
another: "Hay grown in a dry season contains more 
nutriment. This is particularly noticeable in the con- 
dition of cattle in the spring following a dry season. I 
do not consider grass grown in a dense shade worth 
over half price," " From an experience of fifty years 
in making hay, and thirty-five in feeding it out and sell- 
ing it," says an intelligent practical farmer, " I should 
say that in a wet season I never found anything like so 
much heart or nutriment in hay as in a dry one. Grass 
grown under a thick, shady tree is not worth one-half 
as much as that grown in the sun. The grass this year 
(1856) Avas well set in the spring, and grew very quick 
when the warm weather came on; but still we had much 
good, Avarm sun to bring it to maturity, and I think it 
will spend pretty well, but probably not quite as well 
as the same bulk last year. " 

It is not necessary to multiply the authorities of 
practical farmers on this point, since they uniformly 
coincide with the testimony given above ; and it may 
be regarded as fully established as the result both of 
scientific investigations and of practical experience, that 
both the quantity and the quality of grass, are in pro- 
portion to the heat or sunlight and the moisture in 
which it is grown. 

What has been said will explain the allowance which 



COMPENSATIONS. — SNOW. 257 

it may be proper to make in the analyses of grass 
grown in a climate of less heat and less sunshine than 
our own. It will also lead to the conclusion that our 
own grae^sGS, grown on low, moist lands, are neither so 
sweet nor so nutritious' as the same species grown on 
higher and drier soils ; and it is a fact which has fallen 
under the observation of practical farmers, that the 
grasses on low lands do not produce so much nor so 
good a quality of milk, nor so much fat in animals, as 
the same species of grass grown on upland soils. 

But, though we cannot boast of so luxuriant a growth 
of tlie grasses as other and more favorable climates, we 
have, as already remarked, at least some compensations. 
With the necessities of our rigorous northern winters 
to provide for, the English summers, with their daily 
and almost hourly rains, would make it extremely diffi- 
cult to put in the proper stores of winter food for our 
stock. 

It is a curious fact that the destruction of the grasses 
from the colds of winter is less to be apprehended in 
some of the higher northern latitudes than in somewhat 
milder climates. In the northern and eastern portions 
of Maine, for instance, the snow generally falls before 
the frost has penetrated to any great depth; and it 
usually lasts, often very deep, till the spring opens; 
and as soon as it is gone the grass is gre^n and luxu- 
riant, and the sod ready for the plough; while in Wash- 
ington the cultivated grasses are absolutely destroyed 
both by the colds of winter and the heats of summer ; 
and this very frequently happens, — more frequently 
than in higher latitudes, and where the actual severity 
of the cold is greater. It is the frequent alternation of 
cold and warmth, rather than the low degree of temper- 
ature, that is most injurious to vegetation. 

We have already seen that in the Middle States some 

22* 



258 THE GRAMMA GRASSES. 

of the species of Poa — such, for instance, as the Ken- 
tucky Blue grass {Poa pratensis) — appear to take the 
lead, as among the most important pasture grasses. This 
species is known as Green grass in Pennsylvania. It is 
said also to bear the hottest "summers of Tennessee, 
where it is reckoned one of the best grasses, while it 
grows with the utmost luxuriance in Kentucky, and as 
far north as Indianapolis, in wooded pastures, and forms 
a large proportion of the turf even in New England. 
This and nearly allied species are not adapted, however, 
to alternate husbandry. . 

Beyond the limits of these on the south, the Gramma, 
the Guinea, and the Bermuda grasses, take the lead ; 
while the sugar-cane itself is not unfrequently culti- 
vated as a fodder plant. Some of the festucas, also, grow 
well, and withstand the hot climate, and form a valua- 
ble winter feed for cattle. They are known there by 
the term "winter grass." In many sections, also, the 
Common Reed Grass [Phragmites communis) and its 
allied species cover the low grounds, and afford a large 
amount of nutritive herbage, till cut off by the frosts ; 
while on the dry plains west of these sections, the 
gramma grasses, or, as they are often called, the Mezquite 
(one or more of the species of Bouteloua), become the 
most valuable of the native species found in a belt of 
country with about the thirtv-fifth parnllel as its centre. 
The Buffalo grass, or small gramma, is one of these 
species found as far north as the fortieth parallel. 

The gramma grasses are valuable chiefly as being 
adapted to a hot climate. Their growth is mainly in the 
rainy season, and they seed abundantly as the dry season 
approaches. In the section of country west from the 
State of Arkansas, the rainy season is in the spring ; 
in the northern part of Mexico, it is in summer ; in 
southern Texas, in autumn, and in some parts of New 



CLIMATIC RANGE OF GRAINS. 259 

Mexico,in winter ; so that the period of greatest growth 
of the gramma or muskit grasses is various, being regu- 
lated chiefly by the rains ; but even when dry they form 
a very nutritive food for stock. 

On the western prairies but few valuable native 
grasses are found. While they are allowed to grow 
wild they cover the soil with a pretty close growth; 
but when tlie turf is once broken it is very difficult to 
reform it with the better English grasses, except around 
low spots, or places well supplied with moisture. 

With respect to the climatic range of the grains, 
such as wheat and Indian corn, and others spoken of in 
Chapter II., little need be added in this connection. 
With the exception of Indian corn, the grains are ex- 
otics, and for the most part natives of a moist climate, or 
came to us naturalized in a climate much more moist than 
our own. They flourish best, therefore, in the cooler 
parts of this country, though their range of climate, 
with the exception of rice, is very great. In the more 
southern portions they ripen before the hot, dry Aveather 
comes on. The English grasses, as we have already 
seen, are destroyed by it. 

For Indian corn, which is a tropical plant, there is no 
southern limit of growth in this country, while the 
northern limit to its profitable culture may be stated in 
general at the point where the mean temperature is 
about 68° Fahrenheit. The flexibility of its organization 
is such that while in a warm climate it may grow for a 
period of four or five months, or even more, in colder 
latitudes it will ripen in two and a half or three months, 
and rarely requires over four months. A small variety 
is cultivated as far north as fifty-one degrees of latitude, 
on the Red River. It requires great summer heats, but 
will often succeed well in the northern states with a 
cool and rainy summer, provided there is a week or two 



260 



GROWTH OF INDIAN CORN. 



of hot weather in the month of June or early in July, 
and a late fall with warm weather at the period of 
ripening. It will not endure a mean temperature below 
65° in the growing season, but the morning and even- 
ing temperature may be low, provided the midday heat 
is sufficient to carry up the mean of the month beyond 
that point. This high curve of heat at midday is so 
essential that, without it, there will be no formation 
of saccharine matter in the plant, nor will it mature ; 
while with it the temperature of the night may be 
quite low. This is one, and almost the only, condition 
absolutely essential to its successful culture, and this 
condition is fulfilled in almost every part of the coun- 
try, except the mountainous districts above mentioned. 
.As a means of reference, the following may be given as 
the results of observations at the Observatory at Cam- 
bridge during the growing months of 1854, 1855, and 
1856, which do not vary much from the mean or 
average temperature of these months in any series of 
years. 

The observations were made four times a day, — at 
sunrise, 9 a. m., 3 and 9 p. m., the latitude being 
42° 22' 48", the longitude 71° 1'. 



March, . . 

April, . . 

May, . . 

June, . . 

July, . . 
August, 
September, 



Meiin 

Temp, in 

1854. 



33\1 
42^9 

57^7 
65°.9 
72^9 
68°.6 
61°.4 



Rain in 

1854. 



Inches. 

2.949 
4.842 
5.453 
3.585 
3.239 
0.351 
4 360 



Mean 
Temp, in 

1M5. 



.S2=.31 
44°.08 
53^40 
65°. 48 
72^24 
67°.31 
6P.45 



Inches. 

1.159 
3.990 
1.501 
3.581 
4.845 
2.270 
1.216 



Mean 

Temn. ir 

1856. 



26°.98 
45°. 82 
52^55 
68-. 08 
72-\76 
67°.3l 
62°.98 



Rain in 
1856. 



Inches. 

0.970 
3.732 
6.732 
2.869 
4.243 
14.981 



The season of 1858 was remarkable in most parts of 
New England as a season of frequent rains and cool 



CLIMATIC RANGE OP WHEAT. 261 

weather in July and August, and the farmers generally 
predicted a failure of the corn crop, and wondered all 
the summer at the luxuriant growth of this plant. The 
secret of it undoubtedly was that the last week of June 
and the first week of July were excessively hot, though 
the rest of the season was unusually cool and moist. 
The ground had Jiecome warmed to a great depth, and 
this was sufiicient to give the plant a rapid growth 
through the rest of the growing season. Every part of 
the country is, therefore, adapted to Indian corn, with 
the exception of the higher mountainous parts of New 
England, and northern New York, and northern Wis- 
consin and Minnesota. 

There are great staples of the Southern States more 
profitable, it is true, owing to their extremely limited 
range of climate ; but, as a plant for the whole country, 
no other can compare with it in importance. 

The climatic range of wheat and barley is still 
greater, for both grow successfully at small elevations 
above the level of the sea, on the borders of the trop- 
ics, while wheat may be cultivated as far north as 
60°, and the culture of barley extends to the polar 
circle. The climatic range of oats does not materially 
vary from that of wheat. 

But, though the absolute range of climate for wheat 
is greater than that of Indian corn, there are more local 
conditions M'hich affect it, and hence its most profitable 
limit of cultivation may not be much greater. 

The districts of tliis country which correspond 
most nearly to the great wheat-growing sections of 
Europe may be found in central New York, Pennsyl- 
vania, and a part of Maryland, and a section through the 
states lying immediately south of the great northern 
lakes, including the prairie lands west from Lake Michi- 
gan. In these sections the mean temperature of 



262 THE WHEAT DISTRICTS. 

summer ranges from 68° to 71°, and the grain ripens 
usually in July. In the extreme southern states May 
is the harvest month, and the mean temperature of that 
is from 67° to 70°. In Virginia the wheat harvest 
extends into June, a,nd the mean temperature is from 
63° to 65° for May, and from 68°to 72° for June, while in 
central New York the harvest extends into July, and 
the mean temperature of the former month there is 64°, 
and that of the latter 69° ; and in Illinois, where the 
wheat harvest ends in June, the temperature is below 
70°, while the temperature of May is from 60° to 62°. 

As already intimated, many local modifications are 
required in taking an account of the influence of 
climate on the growth of wheat. A low temperature 
for the growing months, which may be a rare exception, 
will of course affect it. The summer of 1853 in Eng- 
land, for instance, was about two degrees below the 
average of mean temperature, and the consequence was 
that the wheat crop fell off from a third to a half July 
and August of that year gave a mean temperature of 
from 57° to 59°, while 60° are required there to insure 
a good harvest. The climate of our Pacific coast more 
nearly resembles the climate of western Europe than it 
does that of our own Atlantic coast. 

The following statistics of the mean temperature of 
the months of groAvth and ripening of wheat and similar 
grains, in w^heat sections of this country and in Europe, 
will be valuable for reference : 

April. May. June. July. 

Gettysburg, Pa., . . . 50°.3 
Rochester, N.Y., . . .44^.7 
Oberlin, Ohio, .... 48°.l 
Milwaukie, Wis 40°. 7 

March. 
Chfipel Hill, N. C, . . 51°.l 
Athens, Ga., .... 55°.0 



60^6 


69^.2 


740 


56°.l 


65°.0 


69°.9 


59°.4 


67°.6 


75°.5 


5P.3 


64°.8 


69^.8 


April. 


May. 


June. 


59°.5 


67^3 


74°.7 


64'=.0 


69M 


75°.4 



COVERING OF SNOW. 



2G3 





March. 


April 


May 


June. 


Nashville, Tenn., . . 


. 49^4 


61^.9 


68 .J 


76^5 


Fort McKavett, Tex., 


. 57°. 4 


66^.2 


72^2 


74^.9 


Sacramento, Cal., . 


. 53°.2 


69°.5 


65°.2 


71°.7 




May. 


June. 


July. 


August. 


York, Eng., .... 


. 57°.0 


61°.2 


62^.4 


63-.5 


Aberdeen, Scotland, 


. 62°.3 


56^.7 


58^8 


58°. 


Epping, Eng., . . . 


. 66^.6 


60*^.0 


62-^.2 


60°. 9 


Dantzic, Baltic, . . 


. 62^.1 


69^.3 


63°.6 


62°.9 


Konigsberg, Baltic, . 


. 51°.9 


57°. 4 


62^.6 


61°. 7 


Moscow, Russ., . . 


. 54^.4 


62^.4 


66° .4 


63°. 1 


Bucharest, Russ., . 


. 56°.3 


62°.5 


68°. 1 


65°.2 


Kasaa, Russ., . . . 


. 51°.5 


6P.3 


64°.8 


60°.8 




March. 


April. 


May. 


June. 


Beyrout, Syria, . . 


. fiP.B 


65^.3 


7I°.3 


75°.4 


Alexandria, Egypt, . 


. 62°.2 


67°.0 


70°.3 


76°.2 


Palermo, Sicily, . . 


. 54^.0 


58".6 


64°.8 


7'°.2 



Winter wheat generally succeeds best when the 
ground is covered with snow; and if" this protection is 
wanting, it is not unfrequently winter killed. It some- 
times happens, also, that a covering of snow alFects it 
in such a manner as to destroy it entirely or in part ; and 
this is the case when the snow is too compact, so as to 
prevent the access of air for a considerable period. On 
a clay soil the frost often acts mechanically, produc- 
ing what is called heaving by the frost. Other influ- 
ences of soil and culture aifect the growth of wheat 
probably to a greater extent than that of Indian corn, 
and the same applies more or less to the other grains 
mentioned in the second chapter. 

The northern range of these grains, particularly that 
of bailey and rye, is somewhat greater, and the differ- 
ence may be stated at about five degrees of mean tem- 
perature, which would embrace several degrees of lati- 
tude. Barley grows further north than any other, but 
both barley and rye will endure cooler and shorter 
summers, and a somewhat poorer soil. 



264 GROWTH OF BARLEY. 

Oats succeed rather better than wheat in a moist and 
cool climate, but will not endure frosts like that plant. 
It may be said, in general, that these grains will not 
endure a mean temperature of less than 58° for the 
growing months, in equable climates, and about 65° in 
more variable ones, with freedom from frosts during a 
month or two previous to, and during the time of, com- 
ing to maturity. Long-continued periods of moisture, 
united with heat, cause various diseases, as rust, mil- 
dew, smut, and other similar injuries. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SELECTION, MIXTURE, AND SOWING, OF GRASS- 
SELDS. 

In general, too little attention is paid to the selection 
of seeds, not only of the grasses, but of other cultivated 
plants. The farmer cannot be sure that he has good 
seed unless he raises it for himself, or uses that raised 
in his neighborhood. He too often takes that which 
has passed through several hands, and whose origin he 
cannot trace. Bad or old seed may thus be bought in 
the belief that it is good and new, and the seller himself 
may not know anything to the contrary. The buyer, 
in such cases, often introduces weeds which are very 
difficult to eradicate. 

The temptation to mix seeds left over from previous 
years with newer seed is very great, and there can be 
no doubt that it is often done on a large scale. In such 
cases the buyer has no remedy. He cannot return the 
worthless article, and the repayment of the purchase 
money, even if he could enforce it, would be but poor 
compensation for the loss of a crop. 

The seeds of some plants retain their vitality much 
longer than others. Those of the turnip, for instance, 
will germinate as well, or nearly as well, at the age of 
four or five years, as when only one or two years old ; 
they are thought to be better at two years old than one. 
But the seeds of most of the grasses are of very little 

23 \'26i) 



266 GEEMINATIVE POWER OF SEEDS. 

value when they have been kept two or three years ; 
and hence the importance of procuring new and fresh 
seeds, and guarding against any mixture of the old and 
worthless with the new as carefully as possible. 

It is easy to tell whether the germinative power of 
grass or any other seed still remains, by the following 
simple method ; and, if the buyer should be willing to 
try it, he might purchase only a small quantity at first, 
and afterwards obtain his full supply with more confi- 
dence, if the trial showed it to be good. Take two 
pieces of thick cloth, moisten them with water, and 
place them one upon the other in the bottom of a 
saucer. Place any number of seeds which it is desired 
to try upon the cloth, spreading thin, so as not to allow 
them to cover or touch each other. Cover them over 
with a third piece of cloth, similar to the others, and 
moistened in the same manner. 

Then place the saucer in a moderately warm place. 
Sufficient water must be turned on, from time to time, to 
keep the three thicknesses of cloth moist, but great care 
must be taken not to use too much water, as this would 
destroy the seed. There should be only enough to 
moisten the cloths, and not enough to allow any to 
stand in the saucer. Danger from this source may be 
avoided in a great measure, however, by tipping up the 
saucer so as to permit any superfluous water in it to 
drain off. The cloth used for covering may be gently 
raised each day to watch the progress of the swelling 
or the moulding of the seeds. The good seed will be 
found to swell gradually, while the old or poor seed, 
which has lost its germinating power, will become 
mouldy in a very few days. 

In this way, also, any one can judge whether old seed 
is mixed with new. The latter will germinate much 
more quickly than the former. He can, moreover, judge 



SELECTION AND MIXTURE. 267 

of the quantity which he must sow, since he can tell 
whether a half", or three-fourths, or the whole, will be 
likely to germinate, and can regulate his sowing accord- 
ingly. The seeds of the clovers, if they are new and 
fresh, will show their germs on the third or fourth day ; 
other seeds will take a little longer ; but, till they be- 
come coated with mould, there is hope of their germi- 
nating. As soon as the mould appears it is decisive, 
and the seed that m"oulds is worthless. 

It is difficult to over-estimate the importance to the 
farmer of a good selection and proper mixture of grass- 
seeds for the various purposes of cultivation, for mow- 
ing, for soiling, for permanent pasturage, or for an 
alternate crop. 

Doubtless the varieties of seed usually sown in this 
country, consisting almost exclusively of Timothy and 
redtop, with a mixture of red clover, are among the 
best for our purposes, and their exclusive use is, in a 
measure, sanctioned by the experience and practice of 
our best farmers ; yet it would seem very strange, 
indeed, if this vast family of plants, consisting of thou- 
sands of species and varieties, and including, as already 
intimated, nearly a sixth part of the whole vegetable 
kingdom, could furnish no more than two or three truly 
valuable species. 

When we consider, also, that some species are best 
adapted to one locality, and others to another, some 
reaching their fullest and most perfect development on 
clay soils, and some on lighter loams and sands, we can- 
not but wonder that the practice of sowing only Timo- 
thy and redtop on nearly all soils, — clays, loams, and 
sands, indiscriminately, — both on high and lowland, 
should have become so prevalent. 

It is equally remarkable that while but very few of 
our grasses, and these for the most part species peculiar 



268 NUMBER OF SPECIES REQUISITE. 

to Sterile soils, flourish alone, but nearly all do best with 
a mixture of several species, it should so constantly 
have been thought judicious to attempt to grow only two 
prominent species together, with merely an occasional 
addition of an annual or a biennial clover, which soon 
dies out. When this course is pursued, unless the soil 
is rich and in good heart, the grass is likely to grow 
thin and far between, producing but half or two-thirds 
of a crop ; whereas, the addition in the mixture of a 
larger number of species would have secured a heavier 
burden, of a better quality. These considerations, it 
seems to me, indicate the true direction in which the 
farmer who wishes to " make two spires of grass grow 
where one grew before," without impoverishing the soil 
should turn his attention. 

1 hold this proposition to be indisputable : that any 
soil will yield a larger and more nutritious crop if sown 
with several kinds of nutritious grasses, than when 
sown with only one or two species. Indeed, it is a fact 
well established, by careful experiment, that a mixture 
of only two or three species of grasses and clover will 
produce a less amount of hay than can be obtained by 
sowing a larger number of species together. There 
may be some exceptions to this rule, as in cases where 
the yield of Timothy and redtop, owing to the peculiar 
fitness of the soil for them, is as great as can stand on 
the ground on which they grow. 

But it is nevertheless true, that if we sow but one kind 
of grass, however abundantly the seed may be scattered, 
or on whatever soil it may be, or under however favor- 
able influences, only a part of the plants will flourish ; 
vacant spaces will occur throughout the piece, which will 
be filled up after a time by grasses of an inferior quality, 
weeds, or mosses. This is the case in some degree, 
also, where only two, or a small number, of species 



FOLLOWING NATURE. 269 

are sown ; while, if a mixture made up of a larger number 
of kinds of seed is used, the plants will cover the entire 
surface, and produce a I'ar better quality of herbage. 

In sowing such a mixture of several different species, 
we do but follow nature, who, after all, will generally be 
found to be the best teacher ; for, wherever we cast our 
eyes over an old, rich, permanent pasture, we ordinarily 
see from fifteen to twenty species of grass or forage 
plants growing in social profusion, and often many more 
species. If the soil be very poor, as a cold, hard clay, 
or a barren sand, perhaps two or three varieties will 
suffice ; but on good soils a larger number will be found 
to be far more profitable. 

Especiall}' is this the case where the land is to be left 
in grass for some years, and eventually to be pastured, 
as is often done in New England ; for it is then desirable 
to have grasses that reach their maturity at different 
times, as a constant succession of good feed throughout 
the season may thus more surely be obtained. It is 
well known that there is no month of spring or summer 
in which some one of the grasses does not attain to its 
perfection, if we except the month of March, and even 
this brings up a luxuriant growth in the more southern 
latitudes. For good soils, eight or ten species of the 
grasses, or six or eight of the grasses proper, and one 
or more of other herbage plants, w^ould probably be 
found to be profitable. 

I am aware that the prevailing practice is decidedly 
against the use of anything but Timothy, redtop, and 
clover, and that very large crops of these grasses are 
often raised ; but it is nevertheless true that we obtain, 
on an average, less than a ton to the acre, while, with 
the same culture and a larger number of species, we 
ought to get double that quantity. 

Before proceeding to consider the proportions in 



270 BUYING BY WEIGHT. 

which the different species should be mixed, it may be 
well to refer to the mode generally adopted i'or estimat- 
ing the quantities of seeds and their relative weight. 
And 1 may remark here that the prevailing practice of 
buying and sowing grass-seeds by measure, rather than 
by weight, seems injudicious, to say the least. It is 
well known that old or poor seed weighs less than that 
which is fresh and new. Now, if a farmer buys by 
weight, even if he does get an old or inferior quality 
of seed, he gets a much larger number of seeds, and 
this larger quantity of seed which he receives for his 
money may make up for the inferior quality, and he 
will have a larger number of seeds capable of germ- 
ination than he would have if he bought by measure. 
It is to be regretted that it has become so nearly uni- 
versal to purchase by "measure, though, as this course 
is for the seller's advantage, it may be difficult to change 
the custom. 

The following table, containing the weight per bushel 
of the seeds of the most important agricultural grasses, 
has been prepared chiefly from a valuable treatise on 
the grasses, by the Messrs. Lawson, of Edinburgh, who 
have paid much attention to this subject, and whose 
experience and observation in this department have 
probably been larger and more extensive than those 
of any other seedsmen. 

This table will be found to be exceedingly valuable 
for reference. 

Column 1 contains the common names of the grasses. 

Column 2, the average number of pounds in a bushel 
of the seeds. 

Column 3, the average number of seeds in an ounce. 

Column 4 shows the depth of soil, in inches and frac- 
tions of an inch, at which the greatest number of seeds 
germinate. 



WEIGHT. — DEPTH OP COVERING. 



271 



Table XIY. — Weight of Grass-seeds, and Depth op 
Covering. 



1. 

Whitetop, 

Redtop, 

Tufted Hair Grass, . . 
Meadow Foxtail, . . . ■ 
Sweet-sceated Vernal, . 

Tall Oat Grass, 

Sleader Wheat Grass, . 
Crested Dog's-tail, . . 
Orchard Grass, . . . , . 
Hard Fescue, .... 

Tall Fescue, 

Sheep's Fescue, . . . 
Meadow Fescue, . . . 
Slender Spiked Fescue, 

Ked Fescue, 

Kee<l Meadow Grass, . 
Common Manna Grass, 
Meadow Soft Grass, . . 
Italian Rye Grass, . . 
Perennial Rye Grass, . 

Millet Grass, 

Reed Canary Grass, . 

Timothy, 

Wood Meadow Grass, . 
June or Spear Grass, . 
Rough-stalked Meadow, 
Beach Grass, .... 
Yellow Oat Grass, . . 

Red Clover, 

Perennial Clover, . . . 
White Clover, .... 

Lucerne, 

Sainfoin, 



2. 


3. 


4. 


5. 


6. 


13 


500,000 


to i 


ito * 


1 


12 


425,000 


- 


- 


- 


14 


ia2,000 


to* 


i tol 


2i 


5 


76,000 


to i 


1 toli 


2i 


6 


71,000 


toi 


1 toli 


2 


7 


21,000 


itoi 


li to li 


4 


10 


15,500 


to i 


ito } 


2 


26 


28,000 


- 


- 


- 


12 


40,000 


Oto i 


i tol 


2i 


10 


39,000 


Otoi 


Jtol 


2i 


14 


20,500 


toi 


1 toli 


2i 


14 


64,000 


Oto i 


i tol 


2 


14 


'26,000 


Otoi 


J tol 


2i 


15 


24,700 


- 


- 


- 


10 


39,000 


- 


- 


- 


13 


58,000 


itoi 


J tol 


2i 


16 


33,000 


- 


- 


- 


7 


95,000 


J to* 


i tol 


2i 


15 


27,000 


oto } 


1 toli 


3i 


18 to 30 


15,000 


J toi 


i\ to n 


3i 


25 


80,000 


i toi 


1 to i 


2i 


48 


42,000 


- 


- 


- 


44 


74,000 


otoi 


J tol 


2 


15 


173,000 


- 


- 


- 


13 


243,000 


- 


- 


- 


15 


217,000 


otoi 


ito i 


li 


15 


10,000 


i tol 


li to n 


4 


5i 


118,000 


Oto i 


i tol 


2 


64 


16,000 


otoi 


li to li 


2 


64 


16,000 


otoi 


li to li 


2 


65 


32,000 


to i 


ito i 


li 


60 


12,600 


- 


- 


- 


26 


10,280 


J itol 


2 to2i 


4i 



.30 
.36 
.73 

.50 
.38 
.32 
.50 
.31 
.57 
.72 



Column 5 shows the depth of soil, in inches and frac- 
tions of an inch, at which only one-half of the seeds 
germinated. 

Column 6 shows the least depth of soil, in inches or 
fractions of an inch; at which none of the seeds germ- 
inated. 



272 THE WEIGHT VAEIES. 

Column 7 shows the average percentage of loss in 
the weiglit of the grass, in making into hay, when cut 
in the time of flowering. 

The weight of seeds varies, of course, somewhat 
from that stated in the above table, according to their 
quality. Those given in the table are the average 
weights of good, merchantable seed. In some states, 
as in Wisconsin, for instance, the legal weight of Tim- 
othy-seed is forty-six pounds to the bushel; in others, 
it is forty-four. The weight of a bushel will depend in 
part, of course, upon the thoroughness with which it is 
cleaned. The seeds of the different varieties of rye 
grass differ in weight, varying from twenty to thirty 
pounds per bushel; but the average is from twenty to 
twenty-five pounds. 

The number of seeds of each species in a pound may 
be found, of course, by multiplying the numbers in col- 
umn 3 by sixteen, the number of ounces in a pound. 
It is obvious, however, that these numbers must vary, 
like the number of pounds in a bushel ; for it is evident 
that the lighter the seed, the greater will be the number 
of seeds in a pound. The numbers stated are the 
average obtained by careful and repeated trials, and 
they may be relied on as the average of well-cleaned 
seed. 

The results stated in columns 4, 5, and 6, were 
obtained by careful experiment, and will be found to be 
very suggestive. 

The fact that the soil used in the experiments to 
ascertain the proper depth of covering was kept moist 
during the process of germination, though freely ex- 
posed to the light, accounts for the large number of 
seeds germinated without any covering whatever. In 
ordinary field culture some slight covering is desirable ; 
but the figures in column 6 show the important fact 



TOO FEW SPECIES. 273 

that in our modes of sowing and covering there must 
be a great loss of seed from burying too deep, though 
the depth should be governed somewhat by the nature 
of the soil, as its usual moisture or dryness. 

I have already expressed my opinion that we limit 
our mixtures to too few species, thus failing to arrive at 
the most profitable results ; and have said that in a piece 
of land seeded with one or two favorite grasses only, small 
vacant spaces will be found, which, in the aggregate, will 
diminish very considerably the yield of an acre, even 
though they may be so small as not to be perceived. 
It might be thought that this could be avoided by put- 
ting into the ground a very large number of seeds. 
But a knowledge of the quantities of seed ordinarily 
used for sowing, and an inquiry as to the number of 
plants necessary to cover the ground with a thick coat- 
ing of grass, will show that this is not the case. 

I have in my possession letters from some of tlie 
best farmers in various parts of the country, in which 
they state it to be the prevailing practice to sow a 
bushel of redtop, a half-bushel of Timothy, and from 
four to six pounds of red clover, to the acre. Some of 
them vary the proportions a little, as by the use of one 
peck of Timothy and a larger quantity of clover; but 
the general practice is to use nearly the quantities 
stated, some even using a considerably larger quantity. 
Now, if we examine the table, we shall find that in an 
ounce of redtop-seed there are 425,000 grains ; in a 
pound, there are over 6,000,000 seeds ; in a bushel, or 
twelve pounds, there are over 80,000,000 seeds. Now, 
suppose the farmer takes only one peck of Timothy- 
seed to mix with it. In an ounce of Timothy grass-seed 
there are 74,000 grains. In a pound there are over 
1,000,000 grains. In eleven pounds, or a peck, there 
are over 13,000,000 seeds ; and, if we take but four 



274 



NUMBER OF PLANTS. 



pounds of clover, which is below the average quantity 
used, we shall find by the same process that we have 
over 1,000,000 seeds. If now we add these sums 
together, we shall find that we have put upon the acre 
no less than 95,000,000 seeds ! This gives about fifteen 
seeds to the square inch, or about 2,000 seeds to the 
square foot ! 

Again, one of the most intelligent farmers in the 
country, a practical man, uses five pecks of redtop and 
twelve quarts of Timothy to the acre for mowing lands, 
and an addition of five pounds of white clover for pas- 
tures, making no less than 124,000,000 seeds per acre. 
There must be, evidently, an enormous waste of seed,' 

Table X. — Average Number of Plants and Species 
TO the Square Foot of Sward. 



CHARACTER OF THE TURF. 



1. A square foot taken from the richest nat- 

ural pasture, capable of fattening one 
large ox or three sheep to the acre, was 
found to contain 

2. Rich old pasture, capable of fattening 

one large ox and three sheep per acre, 

3. Another old pasture contained .... 

4. An old pasture of a damp, moist, and 

mossy surface, 

5. A good pasture, two years old, laid down 

to rye grass and white clover, . . 

6. A sod of narrow-leaved meadow grass (Poa 

angustifolia), six years old, . . . 

7. A sod of meadow foxtail by itself, six 

years old, 

8. Rye grass by itself, same age, . . . 

9. Meadow, irrigated and carefully managed, 



II 

III 

C Ji 


a 
1 


o 

It 


1,000 


940 


60 


1,090 


1,0.32 


58 


910 


880 


30 


684 


610 


124 


470 


452 


18 


192 


- 


- 


80 






75 


_ 


_ 


1,798 


1,702 


96 



20 

12 

8 

2 

1 

1 
1 



OLD PASTURE SWARD. 275 

or an extensive destruction of the plants ; for, if we take 
nature for our guide, we shall not find anything like that 
amount of plants on an inch or a foot of our grass lands. 
Let us see, from a very careful trial, how many plants 
and how many species are to be found in a square foot. 

These plants, in each instance, were counted with the 
utmost care, by a farmer now living in Massachusetts, 
then in the employ of Mr. Sinclair, and the correctness 
of his results may be relied on. 

Now, it is a well-known fact that the sward of a rich 
old pasture is closely packed, filled up, or interwoven, 
with plants, and no vacant spaces occur. Yet we see, 
from the above table, in a closely-crowded turf of 
such a pasture, only one thousand distinctly-rooted 
plants were found on a square foot, and these were 
made up of twenty different species. They are seen in 
Table X. 

The soil should be supplied with a proper number of 
plants, else a loss of labor, time, and space, will be in- 
curred ; but, however heavily seeded a piece may be 
with one or two favorite grasses, small vacant spaces 
will occur, which, though they may not seem important 
in themselves, when taken in the aggregate will be 
found to diminish very considerably the yield of an acre. 
Undoubtedly some allowance should be made for the 
seeds and young plants destroyed by insects, birds, and 
various accidental causes ; but, even after all deductions 
for these, we see that there is no deficiency in the 
quantities of seed used, and the imperfectly covered 
ground cannot be explained in this way. 

The above table is also important as an illustration 
of the truth of my general proposition. It shows that 
in those pastures where few species were found to- 
gether, whether in old, natural pastures or in artificial 
meadows, the number of plants on a given space was 



276 DEMAND SOON SUPPLIED. 

proportionally small. Sinclair, too, who had observed 
carefully and extensively, writes on this point, in regard 
to the practice of over-seeding, as follows : " When an 
excess of grass-seed is sown, the seeds, in general, all 
vegetate ; but the plants make little, if any progress, 
until, from the want of nourishment to the roots, and 
the confined space for the growth of the foliage, a cer- 
tain number decay, and give the requisite room to the 
proper number of plants ; and that will be according as 
there are a greater or less variety of diflerent species 
of grasses combined in the sward." 

It is proper to make some allowance for bad seed, it 
is true ; but our practice throughout the country is 
defective and uneconomical. In the examination of the 
rich and productive pasture turf, from twelve to twenty 
species were found closely mixed together, and there 
were six or seven plants to the square inch. We sow 
seed enough, frequently, for fifteen plants to the inch, 
but rarely obtain above two or three, and generally 
even less than that, owing to the limited number of 
species. 

The difiiculty of procuring the seed, and its expense, 
have been the strongest objections to the use of many 
species. A demand for these species, however, would 
soon remove this difficulty, and varieties would be kept 
for sale in every seed-store in the countr}', and at a 
reasonable price. When it is considered that the addi- 
tional expense of sowing a field or permanent pasture 
with a greater number of species will be, comparatively, 
very small, while the additional yield will be propor- 
tionabl}^ large, — if the result is as favorable as the 
opinion of many who have made the trial would lead us 
to expect, — every farmer must admit that it is for his 
interest to try the experiment on a small scale, at least. 

It will be evident, after a moment's reflection, that 



VARIOUS MIXTURES. 277 

very different mixtures, both as regards the species and 
the relative quantities of each, will be desirable for 
different soils ; that different mixtures would be required 
for alternate cropping or laying down land for only ayear 
or two, and for permanent pasture. In our practice it 
is most common to seed down for some years, and not 
unfrequently this is done with the design of cutting the 
grass for hay for a few years, and then pasturing the 
field, in which case our seeding down assumes the char- 
acter of laying down for permanent pasturage. 

Equall}^ good, but very different mixtures, might 
be made, also, for the same soils, by different indi- 
viduals who had different objects in view, some desir- 
ing a very early crop, some wishing to select spe- 
cies which resist the access of profitless weeds, and 
others to cultivate those varieties which exhaust the 
soil the least. Each of these mixtures may be best 
adapted to the specific object of the farmer who makes 
it, and, if composed of a sufficient number of species, 
may be good, and truly economical. 

The practice with many farmers has already been 
alluded to as consisting usually of one bushel or twelve 
pounds of redtop, a half a bushel or tAventy-two pounds 
of Timothy, and from four to six or eight pounds of 
clover. The practice of many good farmers varies but 
little from this mixture. 

For a permanent pasture mixture, it is highly import- 
ant to bear in mind that such species should be 
selected as blossom at different periods, in order to 
secure, as far as possible, a luxuriant growth through 
the season ; and some grasses may be used which are 
valuable mainly for their earl}' growth, with less regard 
to their nutritive value than in mixtures for field culture. 

For such a mixture, we might select the following as 
an example : 

24 



278 



MIXTURE FOR PERMANENT PASTURES. 



For Permanent Pastures. 

Meadow Foxtail, flowering in May and June, 
Orchard Grass, " in " " " 

Sweet-scented Vernal, " in April and May, 



Meadow Fescue, " 

Redtop, " 

Kentucky Blue Grass, " 

Italian Rye Grass, " 

Perennial Rye Grass, " 
Timothy, 

Rough-stalked Meadow, " 

Perennial Clover, " 

White Clover, " 



in May and June, 

in June and July, 

in May and June, 

in June, 

in " 

in " and July, 



from May to Sept., 



2 pounds. 

6 

1 

2 

2 

4 

4 

6 

3 

2 

3 

5 

4U pounds. 



This mixture would give the enormous number of 
over 54,000,000 seeds ! In an acre there are 6,272,640 
inches, so that the mixture would give about eight seeds 
to the square inch. We see, from the preceding table, 
that in an old, close sward there were but about 1000 
plants to the square foot, or, on an average, about 
seven plants to the square inch. 

This is, therefore, a very large and liberal seeding, 
and leaves a large margin for worthless seeds, for im- 
perfect sowing, and for destruction of plants by insects 
and frost. 

The weight of the seeds of each of the species of the 
above mixture, together with the period of blossoming 
of each, will furnish a sufficient reason for the quantity 
recommended, and the reader is referred to Table XIY. 
for further explanation. 

A permanent pasture mixture, recommended by the 
Messrs. Lawson & Sons, very experienced seedsmen of 
Edinburgh, Scotland, may be worthy of study in con- 
nection with the descriptions of the various species, as 
given in the first chapter. It is as follows : 



SECOND PASTURE MIXTURE. 279 



Second Mixture for Permanent Pasture. 

Pounds. I Pounds. 

Meadow Foxtail, 2 Perennial Rye Grass, 8 

Orchard Grass 4 Timothy 3 

Hard Fescue, 2 ! Wood Meadow Grass, 2 

Tall Fescue 2 i Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . . 2 



Meadow Fescue, 2 

Redtop, 2 

June Grass 2 

Italian Rye Grass, 6 



Yellow Oat Grass, 1 

Perennial Clover, 2 

White Clover, 5 



Here we have a considerable number of species, and, 
according to the table on a preceding page, over forty- 
five million five hundred thousand seeds. Thus, though 
Ave use less than half as many seeds as our farmers gen- 
erally do, we still allow more than seven seeds to the 
square inch, or over one thousand seeds to the square 
foot, a number larger than the number of plants found 
in the rich and closely-woven sward of an old pasture, 
as seen in Table XI. These, it will be seen, even if we 
make a large allowance for bad seeds, will produce as 
many plants as will grow well, while we still have by 
far the largest number of stalks of redtop from no less 
than three million seeds, though the weight of the red- 
top-seed is but two pounds. This mixture is designed 
for one acre sown without grain in the fall in northern 
latitudes, or in the spring in soils where spring sowing 
is found to do best. If any modification were proposed 
in the above mixture, it would be to reduce the quantity 
of the rye grasses, or to leave out the Italian rye grass 
entirely. 

A mixture like the above would answer very well, 
and is less expensive than the following, though it is 
probable that the greater original outlay for the seeds 
recommended in the following table will be more than 
returned in the additional yield. 



280 ECONOMY OF PASTURES. 

Tliird Mixture for Permanent Pasture. 



Pounds. 

Meadow Foxtail 2 

Orchard Grass, 6 

Hard Fescue, 1 

Tall Fescue, 1 

Meadow Fescue, 2 



Founds. 
Timothy 3 

Wood Meadow Grass-, 2 

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . . 2 

Yellow Oat Grass 2 

Tall Oat Grass 3 



Redtop, 3 Perennial Clover, .2 

June Grass, 4 

Italian Rye Grass, 3 



Perennial Rye Grass, 4 



White Clover 5 

45 



If the cultivator desires to produce a close, matted 
sward as soon as possible, no broad-leaved clover should 
be used, and the above mixture will be quite sufficient 
•without the perennial clover. 

Though the above mixtures contain so many species, 
it will be seen that the actual number of seeds sown is 
far less than is customarily used ; and for any other use 
than permanent pasture it is greater than need be used, 
since the number of plants which this would give could 
not grow and arrive at maturity, for want of space. In 
pastures that are fed down, the growth does not usually 
reach over five or six inches, often not that ; so that a 
large number of seeds is required, and that of a large 
number of species. 

It has already been said that a large number of spe- 
cies will insure a much denser growth than the same 
number of seeds of one or two species. It may also 
be added that the dense growth of many species will 
exhaust the ground less, since they live, to some 
extent, upon different constituents. This is an impor- 
tant practical point, which will in time be appreciated. 
Pasture feeding is, unquestionably, far cheaper, under 
ordinary circumstances, than stall feeding ; and the com- 
plaint of exhausted and worn-out pastures in the older 



IMPROVEMENT OF PASTURES. 281 

states is too well founded. Some improvement in the 
treatment of such lands is required, and one most im- 
portant line of experiment, it seems to me, will be 
found in the use of a much larger number of species of 
the grasses, together with such other forage plants as 
have been found to add to the richness of pastures, and 
to their fattening qualities for stock. Professor Low 
recommends the following: 

Fourth Mixture for Permanent Pasture. 



Pounds. 

Meadow Foxtail, 3| 

Orchard Grass, i 

Timothy, -5 

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . | 
Meadow Fescue, 2 



Founds. 

Perennial Rye Grass, 12 

Red Clover 5 

White Clover, 5 

Black Medic, 2 

36 



This would give twelve million seven hundred and 
fifty-seven thousand seeds to the acre ; a much less 
number than those recommended in the foregoing mix- 
tures, but still a very liberal seeding, provided the seed 
is sound and good. I should prefer to add considera- 
bly to the quantity of orchard grass, someAvhat to the 
rough-stalked meadow, and two or three pounds of 
June or Kentucky blue grass. A still larger number of 
species would be desirable ; and the tall oat grass, hard 
fescue, and a small quantity of sweet-scented vernal, 
would be an improvement. 

A mixture is sometimes wanted for pastures that are 
much shaded with trees ; and in such cases those spe- 
cies should be selected which do well in such situations, 
blossom at different seassons, so as to give a succession 
of forage, and possess, at the same time, the requisite 
amount of nutritive elements. I would suggest the 
following as the 
24* 



282 



OECHARDS. — SHADED PASTURES. 



Sixth Mixture, for Permanent Pastures much shaded 
with trees. 



Pounds. 

June Grass 5 

Orchard Grass, 6 

Sweet-scented Vernal, 3 

Hard Fescue 2 

Tall Fescue, 1 

Timothy, 3 



Pounds. 

Meadow Foxtail, 2 

Wood Meadow Grass, 4 

Rough-stalked Meadow 6 

Red Clover, 3 

White Clover 5 

. 40 



If the object be to make a permanent lawn, as is fre- 
quently desirable around or in sight of the farm-house, 
something like the following mixture will generally be 
found to give satisfactory results : 



Permanent Lawn Grasses in Mixture. 



Pounds. 

Meadow Foxtail, 2 

Sweet-scented Vernal Grass, ... 1 

Redtop, 2 

Hard Fescue, 3 

Sheep's Fescue 1 

Meadow Fescue, 4 

Red Fescue, 2 

Italian Rye Grass, 3 

Perennial Rye Grass, 6 



Pounds. 

Timothy 3 

June Grass, 4 

Rough- stalked Meadow Grass, . . 2 

Yellow Oat Grass, 1 

Perennial Clover, 2 

Red Clover, 2 

White Clover 6 

44 



This mixture will resist the effects of our severe 
droughts better than those commonly used for lawns. 
If anything is omitted from it, the red and perennial 
clovers, the yellow oat grass, and a part of the rye 
grass, could best be spared. 

Red clover, like other coarse and large-leaved plants, 
rather mars the beauty of fine lawns; though, as it dis- 
appears mostly after the second year, it may be of 
service in protecting the finer grasses. Lawns kept 
frequently mown are of most use as furnishing food for 



MIXTURES FOR LAWNS. 



283 



calves and sheep, and are less adapted to supply the 
wants of larger animals. 

Another mixture for lawns and pleasure-grounds, 
which are to be often mown, or kept short, is recom- 
mended by Parnell, as follows : 



Second Mixture, for' Permanent Lawns to he frequently 

Moion. 



Pounds. 

Crestal Dog's-tail, 11 

Yellow Oat Grass, 8 

Hard Fescue, 5 

Wood Meadow, 4 

June Grass, 2 



Pounds. 
Rough-stalked Meadow, .... 2 

Redtop, 4 

Whitetop 4 

40 



Lawns furnished with suitable grasses become much 
finer and more velvety, from frequent mowing, than 
they otherwise would be. The Lawson's mixture, for 
lawns frequently mown, consists mainly of the same 
species, but in different proportions. It is as follows : 



Third Mixture, for Fine Lawns frequently Mown. 



Pounds. 

Crested Dog's-tail, 10 

Hard Fescue, 4 

Slender Fescue, 2 

Perennial Rye Grass, 10 

Wood Meadow Grass, 2 



Pounds. 
Rough-stalked Meadow, .... 1 

Yellow Oat Grass, 1 

June Grass 8 

White Clover, 8 

46 



A mixture for permanent lawn pastures, or pastures 
lying in the vicinity of dwellings or public highways, 
where the owner has some regard to fineness and 
beauty of herbage, should, I think, be composed of a 
still larger number of species. 

The following is suggested as most likely to secure 
the end desired : 



284 



REGARD TO HABIT OF GROWTH. 



Permanent Lawn Pastures. 



Pounds. 

Meadow Foxtail, 3 

Sweet-scented Vernal, 2 

Orchard Grass, 3 

Hard Fescue, 2 

Sheep's Fescue, 2 

Meadow Fescue, 2 

Italian Rye Grass, 3 

Perennial Rye Grass, 4 

Timothy, 3 



Pounds. 

Redtop, 3 

June Grass, 4 

Rough-stalked Meadow, 3 

Yellow Oat Grass, 1 

Red Clover, 2 

Perennial Red Clover, 2 

White Clover, 4 

43 



In all such mixtures, the early spring and the late 
autumn growth, as well as the general luxuriance of 
the summer herbage, are to be regarded. Grasses, 
therefore, which are characterized by their early and 
late growth, become of great value and importance in 
the mixture, even though their nutritive qualities are 
slight, and though they may be comparatively valueless 
as field grasses to be mown for hay. 

If a larger number of species can be procured with- 
out too great expense, I would suggest the importance 
of experimenting with a still larger number of species, 
and smaller quantities of each ; such, for instance as the 
following : 



Pounds. 

Tall Oat Grass 1^ 

Tall Fescue, 1,^ 

Meadow Fescue, 1| 

Meadow Foxtail 1 

Orchard Grass, 2 

Hard Fescue, 1 

Sheep's Fescue, ^ 

Quaking Grass, J 

Comb Grass, ^ 



Pounds. 

Sweet-scented Vernal, 1 

Timothy h 

June Grass, 1 

Redtop, , i 

Tufted Hair Grass, \ 

Red Clover 5 

White Clover, 3 

20J 



If the farmer wishes to seed down for only a year or 
two, and then to break up again, regard should be had 



GREEN MANURING PLANTS 285 

to the habit of growth and the kind of root the grass 
has. Some species require three or four, and in some 
cases six years, to become firmly rooted and fixed in 
the soil; and they would, of course, be unsuited to 
alternate husbandry. Among them may be named the 
meadow foxtail and the June grass, and others of a 
similar character will suggest themselves in studying 
Chapter I. 

Again, some grasses have but a comparatively slight 
hold upon the soil, possessing few and bulbous roots, 
which, when the soil is turned up, add but little to the 
richness of the mould ; while others strike deep roots, 
branching in every direction, and fill the soil with a 
vast amount of vegetable matter, and add to its rich- 
ness in decaying by the organic and inorganic matter 
which they leave in it. 

This explains why clover is so valuable in alternate 
husbandry, and how it enriches the soil, by mellowing 
it in striking its long and deep roots into the subsoil, 
by sheltering it from the scorching rays of the sun, by 
drawing much of its nourishment and organic matter 
from the atmosphere, and corporifying it, as it were, so 
that whether it is turned under, if it is ploughed in 
green, or its stubble broken up to give place to other 
crops in the rotation, it leaves a large amount of valua- 
ble matter to decay in the vsoil. The importance of 
producing a large vegetable mass for the purpose of 
ploughing in green as manure has already been alluded 
to in another connection, and such grasses and other 
plants suggested as will produce the greatest luxuriance 
of growth, and add most to the vegetable mould in the 
surface soil. The point is one of vast practical impor- 
tance, and the practicability of a complete system of 
green manuring ought to be tested by the most careful 
experiments. 



286 



DIFFERENCE OF CLIMATE. 



The following is the Lawson's mixture for grasses in 
the rotation : 

Mixture for Mowing in the Rotation. 



Redtop, 

Italian Rye Grass, 
Perennial Rye Grass, 
Orchard Grass, . . 
Timothy, .... 
Red Clover, . . . 
Perennial Clover, . 
White Clover, . . 



it 


o S 


1 


3 


3 


6 


6 


3 


3 


4 


6 


11 


9 


8 


4 


— 


2 


2 


4 


37 


37 



37 

As this mixture was designed for use in Scotland, it 
may be proper to remark that, though the latitude of 
Edinburgh is 55° 57', while that of Boston is but 42° 
21', yet the mean annual temperature of the former is 
47°. 1 Fahr., that of the latter 48°.9, showing a very 
slight difference. But our summers are hotter, and w^e 
are annually liable to the most severe and parching 
droughts, such as are not often felt in the moist climate 
in Scotland. 

Besides, the Italian rye grass is naturalized there, and 
gives enormous crops under the rich cultivation of the 
Lothians and the application of liquid manures. It has 
not been proved sufficiently capable of withstanding 
our droughts to give it so much prominence in the 
mixture, though, as already suggested, it is worthy of 
more careful trial than it has yet received in this coun- 
try. I would suggest the following as an improvement 
for our purposes : 



MIXTURES FOR ORCHARDS. 



28T 



Mixture for Moioing in the Rotation. 



Redtop, 

Italian Rye Grass, . . 
Perennial Rye Grass, . 
Orchard Grass, . . . . 

Timotiiy, 

Rough-stalked Meadow, 
Meadow Fescue, . . . 
Meadow Foxtail, . . . 

Red Clover, 

Perennial Clover, . . . 
White Clover, . . . . 



m 




'& 








!». 


>i- 2 


„ >» 


c g, 








c ." 














s 


u^^ 


Ca 


2 


2 


3 


4 


3 


3 


6 


8 


11 


9 


— 


2 


2 


3 


— 


2 


8 


4 


— 


2 


2 


4 


37 


42 






43 



A mixture has already been given for pastures in 
orchards and shaded places, but it frequently happens, 
especially in New England farming, that the mowing 
lands are studded with fruit-trees, and a mixture is 
often wanted adapted to such places. The following 
will be found to do well : 



Mixture for Hay in Orchards and Shaded Places. 

Pounds. 

Orchard Grass, 6 

Hard Fescue 2 

Tall Fescue, . 2 

Italian Rye Grass, 3 

Perennial Rye Grass, 3 

Timothy, 6 

Redtop, 3 



Pounds. 

Wood Meadow Grass, 4 

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . , 2 

June Grass, 4 

Perennial Red Clover, 3 

White Clover 4 

42 



The above mixture will give a great many more 
seeds to the acre than could be expected to grow and 
come to maturity in shaded places. A large allowance 



288 



MIXTURE FOR RECLAIMED SWAMPS. 



is made for bad seed ; but if the purchaser is confident 
the seed is good, from a careful trial as recommended on 
a previous page, two pounds may be omitted from the 
Timothy, one from the redtop, and either the Italian or 
the perennial rye grass may be omitted altogether. 

The foregoing mixtures are designed rather for a 
medium, or a good, well-cultivated soil. For light, 
sandy soils, they should be varied by the use of such 
grasses and proportions as have been found to do best 
on such places. The following will be valuable as a 



Mixture for Mowing on Light Lands. 



Pounds. 

Orchard Grass, 4 

June Grass 3 

Hard Fescue, 3 

Tall Oat Grass, 3 

Meadow Soft Grass, 3 

Redtop 3 

Italian Rye Grass, 4 

Red Fescue, 2 



Pounds. 

Perennial Rye Grass 6 

English Bent, 2 

Crested Dog's-tail, 1 

Perennial Red Clover, 3 

Black Medic, 2 

White Clover 4 

Sainfoin, 2 

45 



In southern latitudes the mixture might perhaps be 
improved by the use of the gramma grasses [Boute- 
loua), or by the gama or sesame grass (Tripsacum), 
instead of the perennial rye grass. The following is 
suggested as a 

Mixture for Reclaimed Peaty Lands. 



Pounds. 

Fiorin, 2 

Redtop, 2 

Hard Fescue, 3 

Meadow Foxtail, 2 

Meadow Fescue, 2 

Fowl Meadow, ......... 4 

Italian Rye Grass 4 

Perennial Rye Grass, 5 



Pounds. 

Reed Canary Grass, 4 

Timothy, 6 

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . . 3 

Black Medic, 2 

Red Clover, 4 

White Clover, 4 

47 



MIXTUEE FOR GRAVELLY SOILS. 



289 



These lands, when properly reclaimed, constitute the 
best part of the farm, and not unfrequently produce 
luxuriant crops of grass and hay, for years in succes- 
sion, without apparent exhaustion. 

Where they are liable to occasional overflows of fresh 
water, or to lie submerged, as is not unfrequently the 
case with low lands along the margins of streams, the 
mixture may be varied, as follows : 

Marshy Grounds liable to he occasionally overfloiued 
with Fresh Water. 



Pounds. 

Fiorin, . . • 4 

English Bent, 3 

Tall Fescue, 5 

Slender Fescue 2 

Manna Grass, 5 

Reed Canary Grass, 3 



Pounds. 

Timothy, 4 

Redtop, 3 

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . . 4 

Fowl Meadow Grass, 6 

White Clover, 3 

42 



If it be desired to cover rocky and gravelly hills and 
soils of a very poor quality with grass, the mixture in 
the following table will be most serviceable : 

Mixture for Rocky or Gravelly Hills. 



Pounds. 

Redtop, 2 

Tall Oat, 2 

Crested Dog's-tail, 3 

Orchard Grass, 3 

Red Fescue, 4 

Meadow Soft Grass 2 

Perennial Rye Grass, 6 



Pounds. 

Timothy, 6 

Wood Meadow Grass, 3 

June Grass, 2 

Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . . 2 

Black Medic, 3 

White Clover 8 

46 



If the soil be very dry, the wood meadow grass and 
the Timothy may be omitted from the above mixture, 
and a larger quantity of June grass used. The follow- 
ing mixture is well adapted to dry, gravelly soils, which 
are difficult to turf over. 
25 



290 TIME OF BLOSSOMING. 



Mixture for Dry Gravels. 



Pounds. 

Finetop, 8 

Sweet-scented Vernal, 2 

Tall Oat Grass 8 

Sheep's Fescue, 4 

Red Fescue, 4 

Meadow Soft Grass, 4 



Pounds. 

Creeping Soft Grass, 4 

Perennial Rye Grass, 5 

June Grass, 4 

White Clover, 4 

42 



For protecting banks of rivers and streams from 
washing and wearing away, the reed canary grass and 
the reed meadow grass will be found very effectual. 
For preventing the drifting of light sand, beach grass 
(Ammophila arundinacea) is one of the best. It is ex- 
tensively used for this purpose at Provincetown, and 
various other places along the coast. I have sown the 
seeds of other species in such situations, but know of 
none equal to beach grass for the purpose of fixing 
moving sands. 

The following plants will be found to blossom in May, 
or early in June : 

Tall Oat Grass. Melic Grass. Rough-stalked Meadow. 

Meadow Foxtail. June Grass. White Clover. 

Sweet-scented Vernal. Italian Rye Grass. Black Medic. 

The following blossom later in June, and, in high lat- 
itudes, the time may be extended to the first of July : 

Meadow Oat Grass. Sheep's Fescue. Reed Canary Grass. 

Yellow Oat. Red Fescue. Orchard Grass. 

Meadow Fescue. Meadow Soft Grass. Red Clover. 

Manna Grass. Perennial Rye Grass. White Clover. 

The following blossom in July generally, though the 
time will, of course, as in the others, be governed some- 
what by the latitude : 

Timothy. Creeping Soft Grass. Redtop. 

Florin. Tufted Hair Grass. Water Spear Grass. 



THE GENERAL PRACTICE. 291 

As already seen, the general practice in New England 
and throughout the country is in strong contrast with 
the foregoing tables of mixtures ; for, of the two hun- 
dred farmers heard from, all appear to raise the same 
species, but no two recommend the same quantities for 
mixture, and not one reports the use of more than two 
species of grass, mixed with one or sometimes two 
species of clover, as at all common. 

As examples of the general practice as reported to 
me, and with Avhich I have been familiar for many years, 
the following might be stated : 

1. J bushel (6 lbs.) redtop, 1 peck (11 lbs.) Timothy, 5 lbs. red clover. 

2. 1 bushel (12 lbs.) redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 8 lbs. red clover. 

3. 1^ bushels (18 lbs.) redtop, 4 qts. (5^ lbs.) Timothy, 3 lbs. red clover. 

4. 3 pecks (9 lbs.) redtop, 6 quarts Timothy, 6 lbs. clover. 

6. 1 bushel (12 lbs.) redtop, 1 bushel (44 lbs.) Timothy, 10 to 15 lbs. 
clover. 

6. 1 peck (3 lbs.) redtop, 1 peck (11 lbs.) Timothy, 8 lbs. clover. 

7. 4 quarts (1^ lbs.) redtop, 1 peck (11 lbs.) Timothy, 2 quarts red 

clover, 1 pint white clover. 

8. 16 quarts (6 lbs.) redtop, 12 qts. (16^ lbs.) Timothy, 6 lbs, clover. 

9. 12 quarts (16.4 lbs.) Timothy, 4 lbs. clover. 

10. 1 bushel (12 lbs.) redtop, ^ bushel (22 lbs.) Timothy, 10 lbs. clover. 

11. 1 peck redtop, 3 pecks Timothy, 6 lbs. clover. 

12. 3 pecks redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 5 lbs. clover. 

13. 1 bushel finetop, 1 peck Timothy, 8 lbs. clover. 

14. 1 bushel redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 12 lbs. clover. 

15. 16 quarts redtop, 10 quarts Timothy, 6 lbs clover. 

16. 1 bushel redtop, ^ bushel Timothy, 10 lbs. clover. 

17. 5 pecks redtop, ^ bushel Timothy, 4 lbs. clover. 

18. 1 bushel redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 8 lbs. clover. 

19. 1 peck redtop, 1 peck Timothy, 10 lbs. clover. 

20. 3 pecks redtop, 8 to 10 quarts Timothy, 6 to 8 lbs. clover. 

These mixtures are sufficient to show the exceeding 
diversity in our practice. 

A little attention to the weight of the different seeds 
recommended in the above tables will explain why one 
particular quantity, which may appear small at first 
sight, is sufficient in some cases, as it will show a vast 



292 GRASSES NATURAL TO THE SOIL. 

difference in their weight ; a given number of pounds 
of some species containing many more seeds, and there- 
fore producing a far larger number of plants than an 
equal weight of others. 

There are few points in our practice, it seems to me, 
where greater improvements could be made than in the 
selection and mixture of our grass-seeds. If the money 
which is now literally thrown away, by over-seeding 
with one or two species, were expended in procuring 
other species and improving our mixtures, there is but 
little doubt that the aggregate profit on our grass crop 
would be much greater than it now is. 

Some maintain that one or two species are suflScient, 
because certain grasses are " natural," as they say, to 
their land, and come in of themselves. This may, in 
some cases, be true to some extent, for such grasses 
will come in, in time ; but we are liable to lose sight of 
the fact that the loss of a full yield, in the mean time, is 
often very serious. 

But the inference which farmers draw from this fact 
is not a legitimate one, for they say that it proves that 
the grasses that come in '' naturally," that is, the wild 
grasses, are best adapted to the soil, and will produce 
more largely than others in that locality. But this, if 
carried out to its natural consequences, would lead to 
the conclusion that new species of plants should never 
be introduced into any soil, because those best suited 
to it grow there " naturally," — a principle which no 
man will assert. 

On the contrary, one great object of all intelligent 
farming is to improve upon nature, and to increase the 
natural capacities both of the soil and of the plants 
which grow on it ; and the introduction of new species 
and varieties is one of the most effectual means of ac- 
complishing this end. Particular species of plants do 



IMITATION OF NATURE, 293 

not always spring up in particular places because they 
are peculiarly adapted to the soil, but often from mere 
accident. Seeds are carried by the wind, or by animals 
or birds, and, being dropped, produce plants on the spot 
where they fall. These plants again produce seeds 
which fall, and in their turn produce other plants. Thus 
a particular species of grass, or any plant, may be intro- 
duced into and fixed in a locality where it has no spe- 
cial adaptation to the soil there, and the most common 
plants or varieties of plants will be most likely to spread 
in this way. Hence, the mere fact that a certain species 
is very generally diffused in a certain district does not, 
by any means, prove that it is better suited to the soil 
of that district than any other species, nor that it will 
be sure to come in if omitted in a mixture of grasses 
designed for such a locality. 

As already said, the mixture of grass-seeds in imita- 
tion of nature, for the purpose of forming good perma- 
nent fields or pastures, is of comparatively modern 
origin. It was, for a long time after this practice 
commenced, thought to require a great while to form 
a thick and good sward or turf, by any artificial means. 
The use of a large and judiciously selected number of 
species has been found to accomplish this object most 
quickly. 

Though I have expressed myself with some degree 
of confidence on this subject, I would still refer to 
the importance of careful experiment. The outlay is 
small, when compared with the losses now sustained 
in over-seeding with too few species, and from small 
or medium crops ; and the farmer can soon satisfy 
himself as to the profit of more attention to the mix- 
tures of grasses. 

More than sixty years ago^ careful experiments were 
26* 



294 TIME OF SOWING GRASSES. 

made, in the hope of obtaining such information* as 
would settle the question as to the best time of sowing 
grass-seed, and the practice of seeding down in the fall 
was then commenced by a few individuals. At and 
before that time, the practice of sowing in the spring 
was universal, and the same custom has very generally 
prevailed till within a very few years. Both the prac- 
tice and the opinion of the best practical farmers in the 
northern and eastern states have changed to a consid- 
erable extent, and it is now commonly thought best to 
sow grass-seed in the fall, early in September, if possi- 
ble, mixing no grain or anything else with it, though 
there are, and always will be, some cases where the 
practice of sowing in the spring with grain is conve- 
nient and judicious. 

There can be no doubt that it is, in most cases, an 
injury to both crops to sow grain and grass-seed to- 
gether. The following statement of an experienced 
and successful farmer will enable us to comprehend 
how the change was brought about, though others had 
tried the same experiment long before him. " More 
than twenty years ago, we had several dry summers, in 
the springs of which I had sown grass-seed with rye, 
barley, and sometimes wheat, and lost most of my seed 
by the drought. I could scrape it up, the plants being 
dead and dry, when small. Since that time I have uni- 
versally ploughed after haying, and sowed Timothy 
grass and redtop." 

Other farmers probably experienced the same diflS- 
culty, and came to the same oonclusion. Our seasons 
differ greatly, it is true, but it is now well understood 
that we must calculate on a drought in some part of 
the summer, and grass will suffer more from drought 
than from frost. Hence the propriety of fall sowing. 
There are some localities, undoubtedly, where spring 



PRACTICAL OPINIONS. 295 

sowing with grain is best, on the whole, as along the 
coast, where, on account of the proximity of the sea, 
the ground is often but slightly covered and protected 
with snow ; yet even there some farmers say it is bet- 
ter to seed in August and September. 

Few general rules are of universal application, and 
the farmer must constantly exercise sound judgment and 
common sense. One practical farmer, in answer to the 
circular, says : " I prefer August, because I think it less 
liable to winter-kill than summer-kill. And another 
greater reason is, that in fall seeding I get rid of a crop 
of weeds, while in spring seeding my ground is seeded 
with them." Another experienced farmer writes me : 
" I rather prefer the last week in August for seeding 
down land. The reason is, that we frequently have a 
summer drought which kills out the young grass ;" and 
another says, " When sown alone, I prefer from the 20th 
of August to the 20th of September. If sown sooner, 
the summer droughts are apt to injure the young blades; 
if later, they do not have a chance to expand and arrive 
at that degree of maturity necessary for a good crop 
the ensuing season." He says, also, that if, in any case, 
it is found necessary to sow with grain, it should be in 
the spring, and not in the fall. Another farmer recom- 
mends " the latter part of August and the month of 
September for seeding down land to grass for mowing, 
unless that season should be very dry ; in that case, 
sow so soon after a rain as may be. I do not think it 
advisable to sow grass-seed when the earth is very dry, 
as some of it may, by the moisture brought up in pre- 
paring the land, sprout, but, not having continued moist- 
ure to support it, will wither away, while some of the 
lighter seeds will, perhaps, swell by moisture, but fail 
to sprout, for a lack of nourishment, and consequently 
perish, while others will be blown away by the winds. 



296 PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE. 

The plant from seed sown in August or September, if 
the season is moist, will take deep root, and be pre- 
pared to withstand the changes of winter. Grass-seed 
sown with grain in the spring is liable to be killed in 
the hot days of July and August, about the time of 
cutting the grain, particularly on light, sandy, or grav- 
elly lands. Clover should be sown in the spring as 
soon as convenient after the frost is out of the ground, 
on land seeded down the preceding autumn, probably, 
rather than sooner in the autumn, as the winter is often 
too severe for the tender roots." 

An experienced farmer writes as follows : " On moist 
land I prefer to turn over the green sward, after haying, 
with a Michigan plough, and seed in August, after 
spreading on a coat of manure, to give the grass an 
early start ; " and another, " I consider the month of 
August as the best time to seed down land for mowing, 
with the exception of clover, and that I soav early in 
spring." "I think August or the early part of Septem- 
ber is the best time to seed down grass land," says 
another, " as in the fall of the year it will get root, and 
not be burned up by the sun, as it would be in spring." 
Another says, "I sow from the middle of August to the 
middle of September. If sown in spring with oats or 
other grain, the young grass is liable to be summer- 
killed, either choked by the ranker growth of the grain, 
or scorched by the hot sun when the grain is taken 
off. If sown in spring without grain, there is one sea- 
son lost." 

A farmer on the Connecticut River states that " if 
the season is not too dry, August is a good month to 
seed for mowing. I have had very good success in 
seeding with turnips, or grass-seed alone, in August or 
September, to mow the next year ; but the usual prac- 
tice here is to seed with wheat or rye, in September or 



FALL AND SPRING SOWING. 297 

October. Some seed in spring with oats, but generally 
it does not do well. Clover is more often sown in the 
spring, because it winter-kills." Another says, " There 
is a difference of opinion among farmers in this region 
on this subject ; some prefer to sow the grass-seed 
with the spring grain in May, while others prefer to 
sow in August. The latter, no doubt, is the best prac- 
tice, if the ground is sufficiently moist." 

But, on the other hand,an experienced practical farmer 
on the sea-coast says, " I prefer seeding down land 
designed for mowing in April, for the reason that if 
sown in March the ground becomes so compact, from 
the eflfects of heavy rains, that the seed does not come 
up well, and if sown in August or September, the grass 
does not attain that degree of maturity to enable it to 
withstand the frequent freezing and thawing of the suc- 
ceeding winter. We usually have but little snow to 
protect the young grass on this island. The objection 
to sowing grass-seed after English harvest will not 
probably apply to those places where the winters are 
less changeable." 

Another says : "I have sown grass-seed in the months 
of March, April, May, August, September, and October. 
On a rich, compact, retentive soil, seed has done well 
sown in April or May, but I prefer to seed my land of 
any description in August, or on a light snow in March. 
My reason is, that when I have seeded my ground in 
the spring, I have sown rye or oats with the grass-seed 
generally ; if not, a crop of weeds would come up and 
usurp the place of the grasses and choke them out, and 
a hot and dry July and August would exterminate what 
escaped the oats and weeds." 

Thus, the opinions and practice of farmers are divided 
on this question, each one being influenced in part by 
the character of his land and his crops. But it will be 



298 NO UNIVERSAL EULE. 

found that no season is without its exposure to loss ; 
for, if we sow in autumn and have an open and severe 
winter, with frequent changes from comparatively warm 
and thawing weather to excessive cold, the young grass 
will be likely to suffer ; while, if we sow in spring with 
some kind of grain, as oats, barley, or rye, and have a 
drought in spring or summer, as we generally do, the 
grass may be injured, and may be entirely killed. No 
invariable rule for all soils and seasons can be given. 
But the weight of authority seems to fix upon early 
autumn as the best season to sow grass-seed, sowing 
it alone, without a grain crop; and the losses from proper 
seeding down at that season are probably considerably 
less, in an average of years, than those which arise from 
spring sowing with grain. 

This does not, perhaps, apply to very strong clayey 
soils, which retain a large amount of moisture. On such 
soils the frost is very liable to " heave " the roots, and 
unless they are rolled very early in spring, which, on 
such lands, is not usually practicable, the young plants 
are entirely destroyed. Such lands, it is well known, 
require thorough drainage. They are difficult to till 
profitably without it, and, when once thoroughly 
drained, the same rule, as to the time of sowing, would 
apply to them, as to medium soils. 

No rule in regard to the time of seeding down land, 
which should be found to work best in one latitude, 
would necessarily apply in a different climate, and under 
difierent circumstances. 



CHAPTER IX. 

TIME AND MODE OF CUTTING GRASS FOR HAY. 

Having carefully selected and judiciously mixed and 
sown his grass-seed at a proper season, on land properly 
prepared, the farmer may confidently hope to have an 
abundant crop of grass the following year, when there 
naturally arises one of the most important questions in 
the economy of the farm, and that is when to cut grass 
to make into hay, or at what stage of its growth it is 
most valuable for that purpose. This is a point on 
which even experienced farmers differ, but the Aveight 
of authority will be found strongly for cutting at the 
time of flowering. 

Most practical farmers, in answer to this question, 
say that hay is sweeter, and possesses more nutriment, 
when cut in full blossom, than at any other stage. One 
of the most intelligent farmers in the country says : '' I 
prefer to cut grass when in blossom, because it will 
make more milk and more fat, and cattle prefer it to 
that standing later. It keeps them healthy. I have no 
doubt hay of the same bulk weighs more if it stands in 
the field till the seed forms, and for this reason some 
who sell most of their hay let it stand." " When de- 
signed for milch cows, store, or fattening animals," 
says another, " I prefer to cut in the blossom, because 
it makes more milk, more growth, and more beef For 
working cattle and horses I cut about six days after the 
pollen has fallen, because it does not scour or loosen 

(299) 



300 PEACTICAL FACTS. 

the animal so much as when cut in the blossom." 
Another says : " Next to sweet, fresh grass, we think 
that rowen will make cows, working cattle, or horses, 
thrive better than any other feed, unless in the case of 
cattle hard at work. We conclude, therefore, that all 
hay is best cut early. Coarse hay will keep stock tole- 
rably well, cut early, which, if allowed to mature, 
would not be eaten at all." 

The testimony of another practical farmer on this 
point is as follows : " We cut after the blossoms begin 
to fall, and before they have all fallen. It has more 
substance and weight cut at that time than if cut 
sooner, more sweetness and juice than if cut later." 
Another farmer says : " Our rule is to cut hay in the 
blossom, as it is then in the best state for feeding, — less 
woody and much sweeter than later, and leaves the 
roots in better state for a second, or another annual 
crop." Another very intelligent practical farmer says : 
" We cut in blossom, because it is then most palatable 
to stock. If allowed to stand much longer, there is a 
draft upon the soil for the growth of the seed, which is 
not repaid by the additional value of the hay, if, indeed, 
it is increased in value at all. My opinion, derived 
from my own experience, is, that the grasses will 
sooner die out if allowed to stand later." A farmer 
who prefers to cut all other grasses when in blossom 
says, " It will not do to cut blue joint or fowl meadow 
till some of the seeds fall, as it will soon run them out." 
An intelligent farmer of Massachusetts says, " When 
English grass is in full blossom it has all the good qual- 
ities it can have. From that time I think it loses in 
value in proportion to the time which it stands. Swale 
hay should be cut rather green. If fully ripe, it is hard 
and dry." Another says : " We cut about the time the 
blossom falls. The grass is then at its full growth. If 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 301 

it stands much longer, the leaves begin to die at the 
bottom, and tlie grass grows tough and hard ; and I 
think the longer it stands, the less it will weigh when 
dried. If it is cut much earlier, it will shrink and dry 
up, and does not seem to have so much nutriment in it ; 
and I have noticed cattle will eat more in bulk than 
when cut at the right time." And still another : " The 
time of cutting depends very much upon the use you 
wish to make of it. If for working oxen and horses, I 
would let it stand till a little out of the blossom; but, if 
to feed out to new milch cows in the winter, I would 
prefer to cut it very green. It is then worth, for the 
making of milk in the winter, almost double that cut 
later." One other extract will suffice. " I cut my 
red clover before the heads begin to turn brown. 
When the clover is quite heavy I cut it when only one 
half of the heads have blossomed, because then cattle 
will eat all the stems. Clover is injured more by half, 
when it stands long after blossoming, than any other 
kind. I find my clover hay in the barn much heavier 
when cut quite early." 

These extracts, taken at random from a large number 
of letters from practical farmers, in different parts of the 
country, indicate very clearly the prevailing practice. 
The replies from about one hundred and fifty different 
individuals show that farmers prefer to cut the prin- 
cipal grasses, Timothy and redtop, when in full blos- 
som ; red clover, when about half the heads are in blos- 
som ; and swale grass, before it is ripe, and generally 
before blossoming, if possible, so as to prevent it from 
becoming hard and wiry. 

This practice is unquestionably founded on a correct 
principle, the object of the farmer being to secure his 
hay so as to make it most like grass in its perfect con- 
dition. Erom principles stated in another place, it has 

26 



302 PROCESSES OP GROWTH. 

been seen that the nutritive substances of grass are 
those which are, for the most part, soluble in water, 
such as sugar, gluten, and other compounds. Now, it 
is evident that, if this is so, the grass should be cut at 
the time when it contains the largest amount of these 
principles. In its early stages of growth it contains a 
very large percentage of water. From its earliest 
growth the sugar and other soluble substances gradu- 
ally increase, till they reach their maximum percentage 
in the blossom, or when the seed is fully formed in the 
cell. From this period the saccharine matter constantly 
diminishes, and the woody fibre, perfectly insoluble in 
water, and innutritions, increases till after the seeds 
have matured, when the plant begins to decay. Of 
course, if the plant is not cut in the flower, a great part 
of the nutriment of its stems and leaves is wasted. 

There are, perhaps, exceptions to this in the natural 
grasses, as already seen in considering their nutritive 
qualities, and in the analyses at different periods of 
their growth. Thus, in case of the orchard grass, Sin- 
clair found the nutritive matter at the time the seed 
was ripe, and at the time of flowering, as seven to five; 
and the stems of Timothy were found to contain more 
nutritive matter when the plant was ripe than at the 
time of flowering, though it was found that the loss of 
aftermath, which would have formed had the plant been 
cut in blossom, more than balanced the gain of nutritive 
matter in the ripening of the seed. Most of the grasses, 
too, make a greater quantity of hay when cut at the 
time of blossoming, though the crested dog's-tail has 
been found to be an exception to this rule. Fowl 
meadow, also, contains an equal quantity of produce at 
the time of ripening the seed and at the time of blos- 
soming, and the nutritive matter at both periods is 
about the same. It will be found in practice generally 



RESULT OF OBSEBVATIONS. 303 

to be better to be a little too early than too late ; for 
the gain is in two directions, — in a greater nutritive 
substance at the time of blossoming, which is certainly 
a sufficient consideration of itself, and in the larger 
growth of the lattermath, which will spring up on good 
land and in a good season. 

We might also reason from analogy in other plants ; 
for it is a well-known fact that the best vegetable ex- 
tracts for medicinal and other purposes are procured 
from plants when in blossom. Prof. Kirtland, of Ohio, 
states that an observing practical farmer of his 
neighborhood, after many careful observations on the 
growth of Timothy, has arrived at these propositions : 

1. That Timothy grass is a perennial plant, which 
renews itself by an annual formation of '' bulbs," or per- 
haps, more correctly speaking, tubers, in which the 
vitality of the plant is concentrated during the winter. 
These form in whatever locality the plant is selected, 
without reference to dryness or moisture. From these 
proceed the stalks which support the leaves and head, 
and from the same source spread out the numerous 
fibres forming the true roots. 

2. To insure a perfect development of tubers, a cer- 
tain amount of nutrition must bt assimilated in the 
leaves, and returned to the base of the plant, through 
the stalk. 

3. As soon as the process of nutrition is completed, 
it becomes manifest by the appearance of a state of 
desiccation, or dryness, always commencing at a point 
directly above either the first or second joint of the 
stem, near the crown of the tuber. From this point the 
desiccation gradually progresses upwards, and the last 
portion of the stalk that yields up its freshness is that 
adjoining the head. Coincident with the beginning of 
this process is the full development of the seeds, and 



304 



GROWTH OF TIMOTHY. 



with its progress they mature. Its earliest appearance 
is evidence that both the tubers and seeds have received 




Fig. 158. 



n 



Fig. 159. 



Fig. 160. 



their requisite supphes of nutrition, and that neither the 
stalk nor the leaves are longer necessary to aid them in 



SUGGESTIVE CONCLUSIONS. 305 

completing their maturity. A similar process occurs in 
the union just above the crown of the bulb, indicating 
the maturity of that organ. Fig. 159 represents the 
bulb fully developed and mature, from which the stalk 
was cut, after the nutritive process Avas completed, 
above the point where drying or desiccation had 
begun. 

4. If the stalk be cut from the tubers before this evi- 
dence of maturity has appeared, the necessary supplies 
of nutrition will be arrested, their proper growth will 
cease, and an effort Avill be made to repair the injury by 
sending out small, lateral tubers, from which weak and 
unhealthy stalks will proceed, at the expense of the 
original tubers. This is seen in Fig. 158. All will ulti- 
mately perish, either by the droughts of autumn or the 
cold of winter. 

5. The tubers, together with one or two of the lower 
joints of the stalk, remain fresh and green during the 
winter, if left to take their natural course ; but if, by 
any means, this green portion be severed, at any season 
of the year, the result will be the death of the plant, 
when it will appear as in Fig. 160. 

From these five propositions the following conclu- 
sions are drawn : 

1. That Timothy grass cannot, under any circum- 
stances, be adapted for pasture, as the close nipping 
of horses and sheep is fatal to the tubers, which are also 
extensively destroyed by swine, if allowed to run in the 
pasture. 

2. That the proper time for mowing Timothy is at 
any time after the process of desiccation has com- 
menced on the stalk, as noted in the third proposition. 
It is not very essential whether it is performed a week 
earlier or later, provided it be postponed till that evi- 
dence of maturity has become manifest. 

26* 



306 KILLED BY CLOSE MOWING. 

3. All attempts at close shaving the sward should be 
avoided while using the scythe, and in gauging mow- 
ing machines care should be taken to run them so high 
that they Avill not cut the Timothy below the second 
joint above the tuber. 

I have frequently pulled up the bulbous roots of 
Timothy from the stubble, from which a heavy crop had 
been cut with the scythe, while in flower, for the pur- 
pose of studying the changes which were taking place 
in these tubers, and have found them very similar to 
those represented in Figs. 159 and 160, not only on 
moist, damp soils, but also on soils comparatively dry. 
Any farmer can satisfy himself of the correctness of 
these representations by a little observation in his own 
fields ; and, as the point is of practical importance, it is 
worthy of careful attention. 

The facts above alluded to have fallen under the ob- 
servation of a practical farmer, who writes me as fol- 
lows : " The proper time to cut Timothy is after the 
seed is formed, and is full in the milk. It will then give 
about twenty per cent, more weight than when it is just 
coming into the blossom, and the cattle will eat twenty 
per cent, less and keep on their flesh. And I prefer 
also to cut it at that stage of its growth, on account of 
the roots being better able to withstand the drought. 
It should be cut four inches from the ground, as most 
of the Timothy is killed by mowing close and early, 
before it has come to maturity. I have kept Timothy 
thick and strong in the land six years by following this 
method. I have noticed that most of it has died out 
by once or twice close and early mowing, before the 
grass has come to maturity. If it is dry weather, it is 
sure to die when so cut. I lost a whole field of it by 
mowing too close and early, and I consider the four 
inches at the bottom of coarse Timothy of little value," 



METHODS OF CUTTING. 



307 



If the seed is allowed to ripen, it exhausts the soil 
far more than if cut in the blossom. 

The old methods of cutting grass for hay are familiar 
to every practical farmer. The hay crop of the coun- 
try must be gathered at a season when labor is to be 
obtained with diflSculty, and at even higher than the 
usual high wages, and when the weather is often fickle 
and precarious, generally oppressively hot, making the 
task doubly irksome and wearing. But, besides this, 
many acres of grass on our ordinary farms ripen at 




Fig. 161. Common Scythes. 

about the same time, which, if allowed to stand too 
long, will decrease in quantity and value of hay Avhich 
might otherwise have been made from it. This last 
consideration I regard as one of the strongest reasons 
for availing ourselves of the use of the mowing 
machine, by which it can be secured and saved most 
quickly, easily, and cheaply. 

Mowing with the common scythe (Fig. 161) is, at 
best, one of the severest labors on the farm, notwith- 
standing the efforts of poets and other writers to make 
people believe it is all fun. It calls into play nearly 
every voluntary muscle in the body, requiring not only 
the more frequent and regular movements of these 
muscles, but, on account of the twisting motion of the 



308 HISTORY OF MOWING MACHINES. 

body, an unusually great exertion of muscular power. 
Nor does it require any small amount of skill to become 
a good mower, since it is proverbial that, unless the boy 
becomes accustomed to the scythe, and learns while 
young, he can never become a skilful mower. 

That the ingenuity of man should have been turned 
into this direction, therefore, and studied to shorten and 
lighten this severe operation, is not at all strange. That 
it should not have been done before, should, perhaps, 
rather excite our surprise. The reaper has been known 
and used on a limited scale for half a century ; and, as 
the process of mowing by machinery is not wholly 
unlike that of reaping, the one would seem to have 
been naturally suggested by the other. 

The first mowing machine which met with any success 
in this country is believed to have been that of William 
Manning, of New Jersey, patented in 1831, and which 
met with a limited success more than twenty years ago. 
The machine was furnished with the serrated or saw- 
tooth knife, having a vibratory motion. 

In 1834: appeared the Ambler patent, simple in its 
construction, with a cutter-bar of Avrought iron, and 
a single smooth-edged knife, operated by means of a 
crank, which gave it the vibratory motion. It was used 
to considerable extent in 1835 and 1836. 

Another machine was used to some extent in 1835, by 
which the cutting was performed by circular knives, 
fastened on the periphery of a horizontal wheel, five 
feet in diameter. The wheel was suspended on a per- 
pendicular iron shaft, which hung on a lever, by means 
of which the driver could elevate or lower the knives, 
at will. The motion was given by gearing connected 
with the wheels on which the machine rested. It was 
operated by two horses, and was capable of mowing 
ten acres a day. 



WHAT EXPERIMENTS HAVE SHOWN. 309 

Wilson's machine was very successful in experiments 
made in 1837. It could be operated by one horse walk- 
ing behind the machine. Tlie grass was so left as not 
to need spreading. 

Another horse-mowing machine, that of Huzza, of 
Cincinnati, met with a limited success as early as 1836. 

But it was not till a very recent date that the ma- 
chine was constructed in a manner to give confident 
hope of its ultimate and perfect success. 

The experiments made with mowing machines have 
at least demonstrated, beyond a doubt, that grass can be 
cut quickly and economically by horse or ox power, 
and the objections which are most commonly made to 
them are such as can easily be obviated by a more per- 
fect manufacture, and by more skill on the part of the 
operator. It is, indeed, a mortifying fact, that they have 
been, in many cases, very imperfectly made ; and the 
fact that many now in use have so often got out of 
order has thrown doubts upon their utility as a whole, 
and retarded their introduction very greatly. But this 
difficulty does not arise from any defect in the princi- 
ple of the machine, and many failures, no doubt, are to 
be ascribed mainly to the impatience of the operator. 

It is not unfrequently the case that a man purchases 
a new machine or borrows one, and, on starting off 
without sufficient care, finds himself brought to a stand, 
with, perhaps, a broken machine ; and, instead of seek- 
ing the cauge, and repairing the damage, and starting 
anew, throws it aside as entirely worthless, and con- 
demns the implement at once. Some of our most use- 
ful and now familiar farm implements have been repeat- 
edly thrown aside, at first, by the fault mainly of the 
operator. A machine ought not to be condemned till 
after a complete and full trial. But enough of these 
machines have succeeded, to the perfect satisfaction of 



310 BUYING CHEAPLY-MADE TOOLS. 

the community, to show that, whatever defects some 
of them may have, they may be made to accomplish 
the work for which they were intended. 

The manufacturer is not alone to blame, as a general 
thing, for the defects of an implement to be used on the 
farm. The farmer too often prefers a machine which 
is least expensive, and no matter how well it is made, 
he will insist upon having it at the lowest possible 
price at which it can be afforded. Manufacturers are 
therefore compelled to slight the work in order to meet 
the wants of the people, and cheaply-made articles 
alone can be sold cheap enough to suit the wishes of 
the buyer. In this way both the manufacturer and the 
farmer suffer. It is poor economy, as a general rule, to 
buy cheap articles. 

As to the comparative economy of the use of the 
machine and hand labor on small farms, it seems to me 
the experiments of the past season throughout the 
country have fully decided the question in favor of the 
former. On this point, however, the opinions of j^rac- 
tical men will be found to differ, to some extent, though 
the weight of the testimony of those who have had any 
actual experience with the machine will be found to be 
strongly in its favor. And this is especially the case of 
those who have been fortunate in obtaining a machine 
properly constructed and put together. 

In answer to the circular sent out to obtain the opin- 
ions of practical farmers as to the resiilt of their experi- 
ence with the use of the machine, one writes me, 
saying: "As to the economy of its use in our vicinity, 
we have no hesitation in saying that one-half of the 
expense is saved in using the machine to cut and spread 
grass, when compared with the common scythe, to say 
nothing of having it done when the Aveather is good 
and the grass in its proper state, whether in blossom 



PRACTICAL TEIALS. 311 

or gone to seed, as the owner prefers. The horses that 
we have used from the first weigh from ten to eleven 
hundred each. We beheve horses of the above weight 
the best adapted to all farm work, and, of course, best 
for mowing, carting, and ploughing. Were the team for 
mowing and nothiug else, we should have no objection 
to their weighing more than the above, provided they 
were smart and active ; but a slow, logy team is not the 
thing ; for it needs prompt action to start off in good 
shape and to work well. 

" We consider the draught not heavier than that of 
the common plough. Were it used at the same time of 
the year, our opinion is that the team would chafe and 
sweat quite as much. A man on his own farm would 
have no occasion to work his team so as to injure it in 
the least, for the reason that he could mow more in the 
first half of the day than he could secure in the afternoon 
of the same or the next day, with the same team. We have 
done our mowing, the past season, with one and the same 
pair of horses, working them from three to seven hours 
per day. The usual practice is to mow in the morning 
two or three hours or more, as the case may be, and use 
the same team in the afternoon to draw the hay to the 
barn, which is from one to two miles distant. The speed 
required to work a machine to advantage is about the 
same as that for a plough on stubble-land, or from two 
and one-half to three miles per hour. There is no objec- 
tion to quicker speed, however, in making good work." 

In a case within my knowledge, a machine with a 
cutter-bar five feet in length, and with horses weighing 
in harness 1,968 pounds, driven at a moderate speed, 
only equal to 20 rods a minute, or 3| miles an hour, a 
half-acre, 20 rods by 4, with a burden of 2,400 pounds 
of hay to the acre, was cut in fourteen swaths, an 
average of 4xV\t feet, in eighteen minutes, including the 



312 COMPARATIVE RESULTS. 

turnings. This would be 2xVij miles the hour, including 
the turnings. At this rate, 1,210 square feet of grass 
were cut in a minute. At the same time a good mower 
cut a swath 168 feet long and 7 feet wide, making 1,176 
square feet, in 31 minutes ; or, at the rate of 336 square 
feet in a minute, allowing no time for rest or to sliarpen 
the scythe. Now, allowing the machine no time for rest 
or turning, it cut a swath 4xViT feet wide and 20 rods 
long, equal to l,554fV square feet in a minute, or 4^^;^ 
times more than a good mower with a scythe in the 
same time. It is natural to suppose that a man mow- 
ing with such a competition and a large number of 
spectators would exert himself to his utmost, and that 
he could not mow half a day at the same rate ; and it is 
certain that he was far better as a mower than the 
average of farm laborers, while at the same time it is 
evident, from the above-named speed, that the team, 
with the machine, could work pretty steadily. 
■ It is, therefore, fair to state the comparative quantity 
cut by the machine, in this experiment, as five times 
greater than that cut by the mower. That is to say, 
one man, a pair of horses, and a machine, would cut as 
much in a half-day as five men, or a pair of horses and 
a machine equal to four men. Now, as to tlie work 
performed, it was admitted by all that the machine cut 
much the best ; and, when it is considered that with the 
mowers one man is required to every five to do the 
spreading, we have to credit the machine with another 
man's labor in spreading, or a machine and horses equal 
to five men instead of four, or, including the driver, 
machine, and horses, equal to six men. This supposes, 
we will say, a half-day's work. 

The cost of the six men for the half-day, in haying, 
would be at least four dollars and a half, under ordinary 
circumstances. The cost of a driver Avould, at the same 



MEN AND HORSES. 313 

rate, be seventy-five cents for the half-day. The keep 
of the horses, at seventy-five cents per day, would be 
equal to thirty-seven and one-half cents, and, allowing 
for the use of the machine a dollar a day, which is, per- 
haps, a fair charge, we have, for the cost of machine 
labor, one dollar and sixty-two and one-half cents, 
instead of four dollars and a half, or, adding a dollar 
more for the interest on cost of horses, and we have 
two dollars and sixty-two and one-half cents to compare 
with four dollars and fifty cents, the cost of men. 

In another instance, where a four-feet eight-inch cut- 
ter-bar was used, instead of five-feet, the horses weighing 
1,820 pounds, instead of 1,968, the trial was made on 
a piece similar to the last, 4 rods by 20, having a burden 
equal to 2,700 pounds of hay to the acre ; the machine 
made 17 swaths, averaging 3^^^ feet to each, mowing 
the half-acre in 19 minutes, at a speed, including turn- 
ings, of SjVij miles an hour, cutting l,146yV(T square 
feet of grass a minute, including the turnings. A good 
mower, on the same field, cut a swath 20 rods or 330 
feet long and 6| feet wide, or 2,145 square feet, in 7| 
minutes, or 286 square feet in a minute, allowing no 
time for rest or sharpening the scythe. Here tlie 
machine cut 4x§(j times as much as the man ; or, allow- 
ing the machine no time for rest or turning, it cut 
l,270xV square feet a minute, or 4yV5 times more than 
the man in the same time. In the first instance, 4xVij 
times, with the five-feet cutter-bar. 

Many similar experiments, in different parts of the 
country, have come within my knowledge, where the 
results were so nearly alike as to lead to the conclusion 
that the above is a fair calculation for lots similarly 
situated. 

" The gain in cutting the grass," says an experienced 
practical farmer, "must be apparent to all who have 
27 



314 



ALLEN'S MOWING MACHINE. 



land smooth enough to work a machine on ; and in this 
connection it may be best to speak of the horse-rake 
with the mower, as one naturally follows the other. 




Our way of getting hay, when the weather is good, is 
this : To cut and rake it into the windrow tlie first day. 



ECONOMY OP MACHINE LABOR. 315 

The next, open and turn it, if necessary, then rake it 
and cart it. 

" Now, one man with a machine and horses, in the 
forenoon, and one horse and rake three hours after 
dinner, can put five or six acres of grass into the wind- 
row every day, if he chooses, which is as much as ordi- 
nary farmers in this vicinity wish to do, as our hay has 
to be carted from one to two miles, and that takes time. 
How many men will it take to do the same work? Any 
one can answer this to his own satisfaction ; and, as 
labor differs in price in almost every section of the 
country, the actual cost would vary somewhat. But 
here it would take from five to ten men to do the same 
work, varying as the burden of grass does per acre ; for 
in lodged grass ten would hardly do. 

" Then the advantage of having it done in good 
weather, and cutting the grass when he chooses, 
whether in blossom or after it is fully ripe, I think 
can be safely put down at ten per cent., and some 
call it as high as twenty per cent." 

From what has already been said, and from the tes- 
timony of many practical farmers, it appears that the esti- 
mate which has been made, requiring five men to do the 
work of one man, machine, and team, or six men, includ- 
ing the spreading, is a very reasonable one, since, in 
the cases stated, no allowance is made for the want of 
endurance of the men at the rate at which they worked 
in the experiments named. 

Other considerations give further credit to the 
machine, since the grass was mown better than the 
average of good mowers, while it is easy to see that it 
was spread better by the machine, thus making a saving 
in the quality of the hay cured. 

The cost of a man, machine, and horses, for a day, 
according to what has been said, would be not far from 



316 THE LESSONS TAUGHT. 

four dollars and fifty cents, while the cost of their 
equivalent in men would be not far from nine dollars. 
This calculation is based on the cost of keeping the 
team and price of labor on small farms, and it seems to 
show the economy of machine labor there. How much 
more valuable may it not be on the large farms of the 
Middle and Western States ? 

But, with regard to the economy of the use of the 
machine, it seems to me that, even if the cost per acre 
were the same as by hand labor, — and all unite in 
putting it less, — we should, nevertheless, consider it a 
great and clear gain to have it in our power to substi- 
tute machinery which will cut grass well and rapidly 
at a time when labor is very difficult to obtain, with- 
out paying an exorbitant price for it. And even sup- 
posing the money cost of hand and horse labor to be 
the same, there is still this further consideration in 
favor of the machine, that, as a general rule, every 
mechanical operation which can be effected at all by 
machinery will be performed more accurately, more 
uniformly, and therefore more economically, than by 
hand labor. 

Among the important lessons taught us by the use 
of the machine is, that the fewer division fences on the 
farm the better. It has been the custom, from time im- 
memorial, in some parts of the country, to dispose of 
the stones turned out by the plough in ugly-looking 
stone walls, which mar the beauty of the farm, and 
occupy much land which is now thought to be worth 
something for the purposes of cultivation. The idea 
was to have a frequent change of pasturage for cattle, 
rather than to allow them to range over a wide extent, 
without much confinement. This minute subdivision 
of farms is a great impediment to the economical use 
of machinery, and even of animal power to any great 



Manny's mowing machine. 



317 



extent ; and many an old wall which was built fifty or a 
hundred years ago, and has come to occupy twice or 




three times the space originally allotted to it, is now 
being removed and buried beneaih the surface, or other- 

27* 



318 ADAPTATION TO CIRCUMSTANCES. 

wise disposed of. With small lots, the farmer loses the 
time of turning at every furrow in ploughing, and other 
operations of a similar nature, like the use of the mow- 
ing machine and the horse-rake. There is one advan- 
tage, however, of no small importance, in these division 
fences, and that is the protection which they afford to 
the field in breaking the fierce winds, in arresting leaves 
and dust, which settle upon and fertilize the soil. 

Another important lesson taught us by the use of the 
machine is, that the stouter the grass is, — other things 
being equal, — the more easily and economically it 
can be mown ; and hence the importance of a high and 
thorough cultivation of all grass lands, not simply in 
the clearing away of stones, stumps, or other obstruc- 
tions, which the use of the machine will lead to, but in 
the use of more manure, and the more complete and 
thorough tillage with the plough, the harrow, and the 
roller. Many farmers have already taken the hint, and 
are preparing their lands with reference to some future 
use of a mowing machine. 

But the experiments thus far made establish con- 
clusively that the machine can be used in a far greater 
variety of circumstances than was at first supposed. 
I have seen it operate safely and advantageously on 
rough lands covered with stones, on hilly and broken 
surfaces, reclaimed bogs and salt marshes, with two 
horses, with one horse, and with oxen, and with fewer 
accidents than might reasonably have been anticipated 
under the circumstances of a new implement, and want 
of experience and skill incident to the introduction of 
machinery. It is, nevertheless, true that it will prove 
to be a great saving, in the end, to put the field in good 
condition, have it free from stones and all other ob- 
structions; and some doubt whether it is economical to 
buy and use a machine till this state of cultivation is 



TIME PER ACRE. 319 

attained, or at least till an approximation is made to 
thorough tillage. 

The average time required is about forty-five minutes 
per acre. I have known eight acres, yielding sixteen 
tons of hay, to be cut in three hours and forty minutes, 
or at an average rate of twenty-seven minutes per acre. 
After making all necessary allowance for stoppages to 
rest the team, and occasionally to repair the machine, 
we may reasonably estimate the work which could be 
done, without over-urging, at an acre per hour. 

As to the power required, all the reports concur in 
saying that there is less labor for the horses than in 
ploughing. In most cases the horses actually gained in 
weight while they worked with the machine. This is 
the testimony, not only of competitors, but also of com- 
mittees of various agricultural societies. One of these 
committees says, " The team used may be called a fair 
average of farm-horses, the pair M'-eighing about two 
thousand pounds. They required no urging, so far as 
we could observe, but performed their daily work on 
the machine with ease, and, could they give an opinion, 
your committee have no doubt they would consider 
mowing the most agreeable part of the harvest labor." 

It is also the opinion of most who have used the 
machine that horses of medium size, say from nine to 
ten hundred pounds in weight, do their work, on the 
whole, with greater ease and safety than larger ones. 
This is especially the case on soft or wet ground. 

Much observation leads to the belief that, at the rate 
of an acre per hour, including all ordinary stops, a good 
pair of horses could continue the work so as to cut, 
without undue exertion, from ten to twelve acres a 
day. 

Many think it to be far more economical to use oxen 
than horses on small farms, and hence many farmers 



320 PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS. 

prefer the former to the latter. In many cases where 
the mowing machine has been worked by oxen they did 
as well as horses, while they did not apparently suffer 
from the exertion, even in the hot weather of July. 
This fact will make it possible for many to use this 
implement who could not otherwise do so, and its 
advantages will thus be brought within the reach of 
thousands who cannot afford to use horses. 

There are some general suggestions for beginners in 
the use of the mowing machine, most of which are 
alluded to in the letters of practical farmers already 
quoted, but which may be briefly summed up as fol- 
lows : 

1st. See that the knives are sharp, and in good 
order. No man would think of beginning his day's 
work of mowing without having first ground his scythe. 
A dull scythe requires too great an expenditure of 
physical force, and the mower works to great disadvan- 
tage. The same is true of the machine. The labor for 
the team is quite sufficient, even under the most favor- 
able circumstances, without increasing it by neglect in 
this particular. 

2d. See that every nut and bolt is perfectly tight ; 
the wear of the machine will be less, and it will be less 
likely to get out of order. 

3d. Keep all the bearings well oiled with pure 
sperm oil ; some of them will need an application of it 
every ten or fifteen minutes. 

4th. Take the field lengthwise, and keep straight 
forward, at a regular, steady pace, without too great 
haste, which would fret and worry the team. An acre 
per hour is fast enough ordinarily, and the team 
will do that without over-urging, if the driver be 
skilful. 

Other things, of minor importance, will suggest them- 



SKILL REQUIRED BY THE SCYTHE. 321 

selves after a little practice. But it is especially import- 
ant to have patience and perseverance, and not to give 
up in discouragement on account of a failure at the 
outset, nor even if there should be a second or a third 
mishap; for, if proper care was taken in selecting the 
machine, these difficulties show either the want of suffi- 
cient study of all its parts, or some mistake in putting it 
together. Manj^ will give up, in despair, if they have 
met only with some one of the slight accidents to which 
every new implement is liable, particularly when time 
presses and things go wrong. 

That some degree of skill is necessary for the proper 
use of the mowing machine, is no objection to it, since 
even the common scythe requires skill, and it is rare 
that any man who has failed to obtain that skill by 
practice, when young, ever becomes a good mower. If 
the machine were so complicated that only a mechanic 
could operate it, no doubt the fact that it was so would 
be a serious obstacle to its introduction. But this is 
not the case, and it is the general testimony that any 
farmer of ordinary capacity can very soon learn to 
work it successfully. 

What has been said of tlie mowing machine applies 
with equal force to the reaper, into which the former 
may be easily converted. 

Many of our grain crops, like wheat, barley, find oats, 
come to their maturity at nearly the same time. Some 
varieties of oats are very easily shaken out, and never 
should be allowed to become over-ripe ; wheat is very 
liable to sprout in moist weather, and barley to become 
discolored, if allowed to stand too long. The work of 
harvesting by the old methods was necessarilj^ pro- 
tracted. Previous to the introduction of the reaper, 
very large quantities of our most valuable grains were 
annually lost, from the impossibility of harvesting 



322 THE SICKLE. — THE REAPER. 

them properly and in time. It is not too much to ?av 
that the successful introduction "of the reaper into onr 
grain-fields has added many millions of dollars to the 
value of our annual harvest, not only by enabling us to 
secure the whole product of all that was before planted, 
but also by making it possible for the farmer to increase 
the area of his cultivated fields, with a certainty of 
being able to gather in his whole crop. 

The sickle is undoubtedly as old as the days of Tubal 
Cain, and was almost iiniversally used till within the 
memor}'^ of men still living. No one, who has had a 
practical experience of its use, can fail to appreciate 
the immense saving of slow and wearisome hand 
labor by the use of the reaper. 

The reaper is no new thing in point of fact. It 
would, indeed, have been an astonishing evidence of 
stupidity on the part of the ancients, who relied mainly 
upon wheat and the other small grains, had they not, at 
least, tried to replace the sickle by something better. 
This they did. They were accustomed to use a simple 
reaper in France, a few j^ears after Christ ; for Pliny 
asserts that the inhabitants of that country fixed a 
series of knives into the tail-end of a cart, and this, 
being propelled through the grain, clipped off the ears 
or heads, and thus it was harvested. 

In England the importance of adopting some method 
to shorten the labor of harvesting grain was early seen, 
and efforts were made to accomplish this end at the 
close of the last, and the beginning of this century. 
The first patent granted for a reaping machine was that 
to Boyce, of London, in 1799. Then followed the 
patent of Meares in 1800, that of Plucknett in 1805, 
and that of Gumming in 1811, clearl}' foreshadowing 
gome of the useful improvements of subsequent patents. 
Smith, of Deanston, Scotland, invented a machine in 



THEATRICAL EXPERIMENT. 323 

1812, which, with some improvements, worked success- 
fully, though it had only a local reputation till 1835, 
when it was used before the Highland and Agricultural 
Society. The next model was produced by Dobbs, on 
the stage of the Birmingham theatre, in 1814. The hand- 
bills posted in the streets stated that the performance 
was for the "Benefit of Mr. Dobbs." — ''J. Dobbs re- 
spectfully informs his friends and the public that, hav- 
ing invented a machine to expedite the reaping of grain, 
&c.,and having been unable to obtain a patent until too 
late to give it a general inspection in the field with 
safety, he is induced to take advantage of his theatrical 
profession, and make it known to his friends, who have 
been anxious to see it, through that medium. Part of 
the stage will be planted with wheat that the machine 
has cut and gathered where it grew, and the machine 
worked exactly as in the field." The Birmingham 
Gazette, shortly after, said the " first experiment was 
completely successful." 

In 1822 another machine was brought before the 
public, and several of the successful reapers of a later 
date were modelled after it. Bell, of Scotland, obtained 
a prize for a reaper as early as 1829. This machine 
remained in comparative obscurity till the World's Fair, 
in 1851, when the success of the American machines 
again stimulated the inventor to come forward as a 
competitor. Previous to 1851 Bell's machine had 
never been in general use, though used to a limited 
extent in the neighborhood of the inventor. Its great 
weight, and other defects, made it difficult to use for 
reaping in the field. 

In the mean time, Schueblej'^, of Maryland, invented 
a machine thirty years ago, on which a patent was 
granted in 1833, the same year in which Obed Hussey, 
of Baltimore, obtained a patent on a reaper, which has 



324; AMERICAN REAPERS IN FRANCE. 

not onlj been extensively and successfully used, from 
that time to this, through the Western States, but which 
has furnished the basis for the most successful models 
in this country, among the most noted of which are 
those of McCormick, of Virginia, Ketchum, of New 
York, and Manny and Atkins, of Illinois. 

The American reaping machines, some of which have 
been extensively used for the last twenty years, have a 
world-wide reputation, and a generally-acknowledged 
superiority, and the credit of having made the prin- 
ciple which the English and Scotch had invented prac- 
tically useful undoubtedly belongs to our ingenious 
mechanics. 

It is not my province to specify which of the machines 
lately patented is, on the whole, the best, or to point 
out the parts in which each excels the others. Every 
farmer has the means, in the reports of the various com- 
mittees appointed to determine the relative merits of 
the machines now in use, of forming a tolerably correct 
conclusion in regard to these matters. The trial made 
under the direction of the Industrial Exhibition at Paris 
is still fresh in the minds of many. 

This took place on a field of oats, about forty miles 
from the city, each machine having about one acre to 
cut. Three machines were entered for the first trial, 
one American, one English, and a third from Algiers, 
all at the same time raking as well as cutting. The 
American machine did its work in twenty-two minutes, 
the English in sixty-six, the Algerian in seventy-two. 
At a subsequent trial on the same piece, when three 
other patents were entered, of American, English, and 
French manufacture, respectively, the American machine 
cut its acre in twenty-two minutes, while the two others 
failed. The successful competitor on this occasion " did 
its work in the most exquisite manner," says a French 



MATERIALS USED. 325 

journal, " not leaving a single stalk ungathered ; and it 
discharged the grain in the most peifect shape, as if 
placed by hand, for the binders. It finished its piece 
most gloriously." 

The contest was finally so narrowed down that it 
was confined to three machines, — all American. One 
of these now gave out, leaving but two to strive for 
the prize. 

The machines were afterwards converted from reap- 
ers into mowers, one making the change in one minute, 
the other in twenty. Both performed their task to the 
astonishment and satisfaction of a large concourse of 
spectators, and the jurors themselves could not restrain 
their enthusiasm, but cried out, *' Good, good, well 
done ! " while the people hurrahed for the American 
rea{:er, crying out, " That 's the machine, that 's the 
machine ! " " All the laurels," says the report of a 
French journal, " we are free to confess, have been 
gloriously won b}' Americans; and this achievement 
cannot be looked upon with indifference, as it but 
plainly foreshadows the ultimate destiny of the New 
World ! " 

With respect to the materials used in the manufac- 
ture of reapers and mowers, particularly the latter, 
there is a difference of opinion as to whether the frame 
should be of wood or of iron. The weight of opinion 
seems to be that for all practical purposes wood is the 
better material. The iron cutter-bar has been tried to 
some extent, but not sufficiently to lead to its adoption 
in all cases. But, that the materials of which these im- 
plements are constructed should be far better than they 
have generally been, there can be no question. Many 
of the bolts in some of the machines have been made, 
apparently, of a poor quality of iron, while they should, 
perhaps, have been made of steel, and in the most per* 

28 



326 HEIGHT OF CUTTING GRASS. 

feet manner. A large proportion of the accidents wliich 
occur arise from the breaking of bolts and fingers. 
These, though apparently trifles, cause not a little an- 
noyance and interruption. Accidents will happen, it is 
true, even with the common scythe; but those referred 
to are, for the most part, such as a more careful con- 
struction would prevent. 

The manufacturer, who, for the sake of a trifling 
saving, slights his work on a machine newly intro- 
duced, so as thereby to retard its introduction, and 
create a want of confidence in the machine itself, must 
indeed be blind to his own interest, while he both strikes 
a blow at his reputation, and, what is of infinitely greater 
consequence, delays and retards the whole progress of 
agriculture. 

With respect to the height from the ground at which 
it is best to cut grass, the practice and the opinions of 
farmers differ widely ; for, while the answers from about 
half of the towns say that farmers generally cut as close 
as possible, the replies from others vary from four inches 
to one-half inch. Thus, forty-four formers return, " as 
close as possible ; " fourteen others, " close, or very 
close ; " sixteen others, " from two and a half to three 
inches high;" ten say "two inches high;" twenty- 
three say " from one to two inches ; " and one says 
" four inches ; " while some say, '' it might be cut too 
close," or " close cutting is injurious," or " most people 
cut too low," and many say, " close as convenient," and 
this is the most common practice. 

It would be difficult to deduce any general rule from 
the replies to the question, " At what height from the 
ground do you prefer to have your grass cut, and 
why ? " One farmer, of great experience and close 
observation, says : " I should prefer to have my grass 
cut high enough to protect the roots from the hot sun. 



PEACTICAL STATEMENTS. 327 

/ have seen Timothy grass nearly hilled by cutting close, 
in a dry, hot time." 

Another intelligent practical farmer says : " I prefer 
to shave pretty close, within an inch of the ground 
when smooth enough. I still remember some proverb- 
ial sayings of my teacher to this effect : ' An inch at 
the bottom is worth two at the top/ * you are leaving 
your wages behind you/ &c. Possibly, in very hot, dry 
weather, on a dry soil, some plants might be injured by 
a too close shaving ; but I should not apprehend any 
harm, even then, and as a general rule I prefer to have 
grass cut as close as it conveniently can be." Another 
says : " Upland mowing grounds I do not like to have 
cut close, having an idea that the hot sun and dry 
weather which often follow the mowing season will 
have an unfavorable influence on the roots of the grass. 
Low and wet meadows I like to have mown close as 
possible. There, the heat of the sun is beneficial." — 
" The height fram the ground at which it is best to cut 
grass," says a very successful farmer, " depends on the 
season, the soil, and the grass. No grass, except on 
moist ground, should be cut so low, in a very dry sea- 
son, as it will do to cut it in a wet season. The natural 
grasses I like to have cut within about two and a half 
inches of the ground. Our old fields of cultivated 
grasses do not afford much after-feed after the clover is 
run out ; what of stubble is left on them is lost, so I 
like to mow close." 

One of the most observing farmers in the country 
says: " I prefer grass cut from an inch and a half to two 
inches, as it starts much quicker to grow, when cut at 
that height, than when shaved close to the earth, as 
some that are called good mowers do their work. If it 
is true that all crops are benefited from the ammonia in 
the atmosphere, as I have no doubt they are, judging 



328 TOP-DRESSING THE STUBBLE. 

from grass side by side, the one cut close, the other 
two inches high, the grasses should have some leaves 
left them to receive this benefit. Grass cut two inches 
high will keep growing, while that closely cut will be 
even weeks before it will show the first signs of life." 

Some make a practice of top-dressing immediately 
after removing the hay from the ground, and when this 
course is adopted the grass is cut quite near the surface. 
A farmer who takes this course says : " Where I top-dress 
immediately after, I cut as low as I can, to save all the 
grass I can. If I do not top-dress, I cut from two to 
three inches high, to protect and nourish the roots. I do 
not feed in the fall where I do not top-dress. I intend to 
manure all my natural upland mowing land, and never 
feed my old fields." And another : " I like to cut rather 
near the ground, for the reason that more hay is obtained. 
If the soil is in good condition, and not too dry, it will 
start again immediately. I know some say cut high, 
the stubble will manure the land and protect the roots ; 
but I prefer to manure with something better for pro- 
tection. I top-dress my mowing land, and prefer a 
compost made of woollen waste and meadow mud for 
soil not very wet ; but for a cold, heavy soil, should 
prefer sand, or sandy loam, to mix with wool waste. 
Apply fifteen cart-loads, of thirty bushels each, late in 
autumn." 

Thus, the testimony on this point is somewhat at 
variance ; but many have noticed the injury inflicted 
upon Timothy by low cutting in dry weather, sufficient, 
perhaps, to establish the principle alluded to on a pre- 
ceding page. Most concur in saying that the finer 
grasses can be cut lower with safety, particularly if the 
season be not too dry. Much, undoubtedly, depends 
upon the soil and the season. , 



CHAPTER X. 

CURING AND SECURING HAY. 

We have seen that grasses attain their full develop- 
ment at the time of flowering, and then contain the 
highest percentage of soluble materials, such as starch, 
sugar, and gum ; and that these, with the nitrogenous 
compounds, then also most abundant, are of greatest 
value as furnishing the nutriment of animals, while 
woody fibre and mineral matter, though important as 
giving bulk to the food, are insoluble and least nutri- 
tious. We have seen, also, that, in the transition from 
the flowering to the ripening of the seed, the starch, 
sugar, &c., are gradually transformed into woody fibre, 
in which state they possess no nutritive qualities, and 
are, of course, of little value. This fact, which is per- 
fectly well established by careful experiment and accu- 
rate analysis, confirmed, as already seen, by intelligent 
practice, is of great importance as indicating the condi- 
tion in which most of our cultivated grasses should be 
cut, and our practice is pretty uniformly consistent 
with it. 

But there is another equally instructive suggestion 
in these transforming processes, and it is this : If grass 
is cut in a condition ever so succulent, and before the 
transition of sugar, &c., into woody fibre has commenced, 
there will even then be some loss of sugar and starch 
from the action of heat and moisture, especially if the 
38* (329) 



330 OVEE-DRYING HAY. 

grass is exposed to the rain in the process of curing, 
and lignefaction, or change to woody fibre, takes place 
to considerable extent, dependent, of course, on the 
length of time it is exposed to air and light; so that 
grass cured with the least exposure to the searching, 
sifting winds, and the scorching sunshine, is, other 
things being equal, more nutritious than grass cured 
slower and longer exposed, however fine the weather 
may be. In other words, grass over-cured, in the pro- 
cess of hay-making, contains more useless woody fibre 
and less nutritive qualities than grass cured more has- 
tily, and housed before being dried to a crisp. There 
can be no doubt which of the two would be most pal- 
atable to the animal. Some loss of nutritive elements 
must, therefore, take place in the process of curing, 
however perfect it may be ; and the true art of hay-mak- 
ing consists in curing the grass just up to the point at 
which it will do to put it into the barn, and no more, in 
order to arrest the loss at the earliest possible moment. 
And this fact of the loss of sugar and starch, or of 
their transformation into woody fibre, by too long ex- 
posure to the sun and wind, I think equally well estab- 
lished as that any transformation at all takes place, and 
as equally suggestive. 

But on this point far greater difference of opinion 
exists among practical formers, some considering one 
good hay-day sufficient, while others require two, and 
sometimes three, as if it were not possible to dry it too 
much. Our practice in this respect is, I believe, better 
than it used to be twenty years ago. Most farmers now 
think that grass can be dried too much, as well as too 
little, and that the injury and loss in the crop is equally 
great from over-curing as from housing green. A prac- 
tical farmer says : '' One good hay-day is sufficient to 
dry Timothy, redtop, or wet meadow. I think farmers 



PEACTICAL EXPERIENCE. 331 

lose more by drying their hay too much than by not 
drying it enough." 

Another writes me as follows : " As far as my experi- 
ence and observation extend, I think farmers dry their 
hay too much, as a general thing. Grass should never 
be dried any more than just enough to have it keep 
well in the mow. I think it is best to get in hay as 
green as it will possibly do, for it contains more juices, 
which constitute its value." 

This is in accordance with the experience of another 
farmer, who says : " Redtop is a more difficult grass to 
make into hay than Timothy. To make hay from any 
grass, it is highly important that the swaths of the hand- 
scythe be well shaken ; here lies the secret of making 
hay evenly, without having green, heavy locks. If the 
burden is heavy, time in making the hay, if cut in the 
morning, will be gained by turning it by one o'clock, P. 
M., and then putting it into good-sized cocks while it is 
warm. If the weather be clear, according to my expe- 
rience, this hay will do to cart the second day without 
giving it much attention, — the sap has become can- 
died, and it is fit for the mow. The exposing the hay to 
the air on the second day, by pitching, is of essential 
benefit. When carted the same day it is mown, unless 
dead ripe, it will be withy, clammy, and will be likely to 
smoke in the mow ; in which case the hay has lost 
much of its valuable quality. 

" To keep it till the third day, and expose it to the 
rays of the sun every day, as some practise, dries out 
the juices, and the stem becomes hard and brittle, — the 
life of the hay is gone to some degree. Our mothers 
and grandmothers used to dry herbs in the shade ; I 
hold to curing hay in the cock." 

Another practical farmer in the same section says : 
" My way of making Timothy and redtop is to mow it 



332 WHAT FARMERS SAY. 

early in tlie morning:, and when the dew is off spread it 
well. I like to dry it in one day's sun, if I possibly 
can ; if not, put it into cocks before night, then get it 
into the barn as green as I can and not have it hurt. 
I do not want my hay all dried up ; it injures it. Wet 
meadow I put into the barn on the day it is cut, if the 
weather is suitable for curing it." 

Another writes, saying : " If the weather is good 
and the grass not too heavy, we cut in the forenoon 
and get into the barn in the afternoon. If the grass is 
heavy and the weather not good, cut in the forenoon 
and turn over the swaths at night ; spread and get in 
the next day. I do not believe in drying hay as much 
as some do. If not quite dry, two or three quarts of 
salt to the load will preserve it, and it will be the bet- 
ter." Another says : " I prefer to cut hay in the blos- 
som on a good hay-day in the forenoon, and it is fit 
for the barn, if raked with the horse-rake and care is 
used to turn it over and bring the green grass to the 
sun, by two or three o'clock in the afternoon of the 
same day. Much hay is spoiled by being dried too 
much." 

" Timothy will dry sufficient for me," says a sensible 
farmer of my acquaintance, " in one good hay-day. 
I dry less and less every year. If there is no moisture 
on it, there is little danger of hurting after it is wilted." 
He cuts his swale hay before it matures and while it is 
quite green, and lets his upland grasses stand till they are 
fully developed, and commence changing their deep 
green color, and thinks it will keep the same stock 
longer and better, if cut at that age. Another experi- 
enced farmer saj'^s : " My way of making hay is to cut 
when in blossom, in the morning, shake it out evenly 
over the ground, turn it over at eleven o'clock, and get 
it into the barn on the same day, if the weather is good. 



THIRTY years' EXPERIENCE. 333 

But, if the grass is very heavy, I put it into cocks over 
night. I conisider it made as soon as dry enough not 
to heat in the mow. To get dryer than this is an injury 
to the hay.'' 

One of the most extensive and experienced stock- 
feeders in New England, a practical fai mer, says : " I 
prefer to cut all English or swale grass from the tenth 
of Juno to the first of July, including Timothy and 
clover at the same time. More than thirty years' expe- 
rience has convinced me that hay secured in the above 
time — or just before coming into blossom — will make 
cows give more and better milk and butter, will put 
more fat on animals for the slaughter, with four quarts 
of meal per day, than eight quarts of meal with hay 
well secured from the first of July to the first of 
August. That will give the second crop, if you wish, 
time to grow, and it may be cut the last week in August, 
or the first week in September ; there will then be a 
crop of fall feed, which most farmers prize very highly. 
If you do not wish a second crop, the feed, by early 
mowing, is very valuable. On the other hand, if the 
grass is cut late, the hay is not only poor, but the feed 
is mere nothing. Every farmer of my acquaintance 
admits that the hay cut early is far superior to that cut 
late, unless it be those that are in the habit of selling 
hay ; even that class must lose in the weight of their 
crop by late cutting. Many buyers have not yet learned 
the difference between early and late cut hay, when the 
real difference is oftentimes from four to six dollars per 
ton. Working horses and oxen Avill keep in better 
condition with half the grain when fed upon early-cut 
hay." 

Another writes me as follows : " My method is to cut 
with the mowing machine, which leaves the grass per- 
fectly spread. It is turned over between one and two 



334 THE PREVAILING PRACTICE. 

o'clock in the afternoon, while still warm, and before 
the evening dew falls it is put into cocks. It is spread 
and turned the next morning, and at one o'clock is 
ready for the barn. I cannot tell, on paper, the precise 
point of dryness at which hay should be housed ; but 
with my hands, eyes, and nose, I can judge when it is 
dry enough not to hurt in the mow, and not so dry as 
to crumble, or to have lost any more of its virtues than 
necessary. The less drying the better, if it does not 
injure in the mow." Another practical farmer says: "I 
prefer tAvo days, but want to have it lay thick together, 
and stirred often the first day, and but little the second. 
In this way the hay retains more of the juices, smells 
sweeter, looks greener, and the cattle like it much better. 
Hay should be cured so that it will not heat in the mow, 
and no more." Another says : '' Hay may generally be 
dried enough in one good hay-day, with proper care, to 
be left over night in the cock, and carried to the barn 
the next afternoon without spreading. Hay may be 
dried too much, as well as too little." " Timothy and 
redtop," says another, " carefully spread as soon as the 
ground between the swaths is dry, and, if heavy, turned 
about noon, will dry sufficiently in one day, if a clear 
one, to be put into the barn before sunset. I believe 
many dry their hay too much. Never dry it so as to 
make it brittle when twisted in the hand." 

These, and many other extracts of a similar import, 
which might be given did space permit, indicate, with 
sufficient distinctness, the prevailing practice among 
the best farmers : but, as constantly intimated, it is very 
common to find hay dried far too much. Every farmer 
is aware of the importance of keeping his grass and 
hay as free from dew and water as possible. An expos- 
ure to rain washes out much of the soluble constitu- 
ents of the grass, leaving a useless, brittle, woody fibre. 



CURING CLOVERS FOR STOCK. 335 

Grass and hay are greatly injured by remaining too 
long under a hot sun without being turned. A some- 
Avhat different method is adopted for the artificial 
grasses. 

The natural grasses, when cut for hay, are generally 
spread and dried as rapidly as possible, in order to 
secure them in the best manner. Experience has proved 
that the same method is not applicable to the clover 
crop. It requires a longer time to cure it properly, 
and, if exposed to the scorching sun, it is injured even 
more than the natural grasses, since its succulent leaves 
and tender blossoms are quickly browned, and lose their 
sweetness in a measure, and are themselves liable to be 
wasted in handling over. Most good farmers, therefore, 
prefer to cure it in the cock. A practical farmer, of 
long experience, says : " I prefer to mow clover when 
it is dry, free from dew ; let it wilt, and the same day 
it is mown fork it into cocks which will weigh from 
forty to fifty weight when fit for the barn. Do not 
rake and roll it : that process will compress it too 
much. 

" According to the weather and my convenience, I 
let it stand ; it will settle and turn the rain very well, 
and will answer to put into the mow while the heads 
and stalks are j^et green and fresh. When fit to cart, 
the stalks, although green, will be found to be destitute, 
or nearly so, of sap : the sap has candied, and the 
clover will keep. On the day of carting, turn the cocks 
over, expose the bottom to the sun an hour or so, and 
to a ton of hay add four to six quarts of salt in the 
mow. 

" Good clover — not rank — cured in this way I con- 
sider to be worth nearly or quite as much as clear Tim- 
othy to feed to a stock of cattle, and for milch cows I 
consider it to be by far preferable to Timothy. Good 



336 CURING CLOVERS FOR STOCK. 

clover hay will keep up the quantity of milk, while 
Timothy will diminish it." 

Another practical farmer, of the same locality, in one 
of the best farming towns in New England, says : " My 
method of curing clover is this : what is mown in the 
morning I leave in the swath, to be turned over early 
in the afternoon. At about four o'clock, or while it is 
still warm, I put it into small cocks with a fork, and if 
the weather is favorable it may be housed on the fourth 
or fifth day, the cocks being turned over on the morn- 
ing of the day it is to be carted. By so doing, all the 
heads and leaves are saved, and these are woith more 
than the stems. This has been my method for the last 
ten years. For new milch cows, in the winter, I think 
there is nothing better. It will make them give as 
great a flow of milk as any hay, unless it be good 
rowen. For working oxen and horses its value is 
about one-quarter less than Timothy." 

Another writes as follows: " When the weather bids 
lair to be good, I mow it after the dew is off, and cock 
it up after being wilted, using the fork instead of 
rolling with the rake, and let it remain several days, 
when it is fit to put into the barn." Another says : " I 
mow my clover in the forenoon, and towards night of 
the same day 1 take forks and pitch it into cocks, and 
let it stand till it cures. The day I cart it, I turn the 
cocks over, so as to air the lower part. I then put it 
into the mow with all the leaves and heads on, and it is 
as nice and green as green tea. I think it worth, for 
milch cows and sheep, as much per ton as Englisli 
hay." 

Still another says : " I have found no better hay for 
farm stock thnn good clover, cut in season. For milch 
cows it is much better than Timothy. It keeps horses 
that are not worked hard better than any hay. And 



MIXING WITH OLD HAY. 337 

small clover, as the rowen crop, is better than any other 
kind for calves. Clover is not good market hay, as it 
wastes in removal from the barn. Stable-keepers give 
much more for coarse Timothy, that cannot easily be 
drawn through a rack." — " We mow clover in the fore- 
noon, and let it lie in the swath, and put it into small 
cocks in the afternoon," says another farmer. " If the 
weather be fair on the third day, open it to the air and 
sun for two or three hours, and then put it into the 
barn. I have found clover cured in this way keep 
sweet and free from mould, and of equal value with 
other hay." Another says : " I have tried three differ- 
ent ways of curing clover. One was, to make it in the 
same manner of other grasses ; another, to dry it one 
day in the swath till wilted, and then pitch it into cocks 
to stand some days, according to circumstances ; and 
the third was, to give it one good day's sun, turning it 
over and getting out the water, and mixing it in the 
barn with old hay or straw. I managed in this way a 
year ago, the weather being very ' catching,' cut and 
dried it as much as possible in one day, and carted it 
into the barn the same afternoon. I mixed it with some 
old swale hay that had been left over, placing a layer 
of old hay, then a layer of clover, building it up in a 
square mow. My neighbors laughed at me, and said I 
should burn my barn down by putting in that ' green 
stuff.' But I must say I never had better clover hay 
than that. The cattle would eat all the meadow or 
swale hay, as well as the clover. There was not a par- 
ticle of smoke about it, on feeding it out. When cured 
in this way, or by the second method, in the cock, I 
think clover hay is worth two-thirds as much as good 
English hay to feed out to farm stock." 

From what has been said in these extracts, which 
might be multiplied, it appears evident that good 

29 



338 TESTIMONY OF PRACTICAL FARMERS. 

farmers appreciate the importance of so curing clover 
as to preserve its tender and succulent foliage. They 
are careful not to over-dry it, for fear of loss of the 
blossoms and the leaves. But it is not uncommon 
among thriftless farmers to handle it in such a way 
that the best parts of it are shaken off and destroyed. 

The method detailed in the last extract, of mixing 
clover with a poor quality of hay or straw, has some- 
times been adopted with great success, the clover im- 
parting its fragrant odor to the hay with which it is 
brought in contact, greatly improving its quality, while 
its own value is preserved without injury. It is not 
only a matter of convenience, oftentimes, to have the 
clover so secured in catching weather, but, on careful 
experiment, may be found worthy of being more gener- 
ally practised. 

The general testimony of practical farmers, as to the 
value of clover hay as compared with that of Timothy 
and redtop, our prevailing natural grasses, varies ex- 
ceedingly ; some making it of equal value, others esti- 
mating it at one-half, and from that to two-thirds and 
three-fourths. 

The practice of raising Indian corn to cut and feed 
out green by way of partial soiling is very common in 
New England, as already intimated, in speaking of the 
natural history of the grasses. This culture has been 
carried still further by m'any farmers, and many acres 
are raised, in various parts of the country, for the pur- 
pose of cutting and curing for winter use. Great hopes 
are entertained, by many, of the utility of the culture 
and use of the Chinese sugar-cane also, which, it is 
thought may be raised, cut, and cured, in the same way, 
and for the same purpose. 

The common practice with regard to Indian corn for 
a fodder crop, and which has been already partially 



INDIAN CORN FODDER. 339 

stated, is to sow in drills from two and a half to three 
feet apart, on land well tilled and thoroughly manured, 
making- the drills from six to ten inches wide, with the 
plough, manuring in tl>e furrow, dropping the corn 
about two inches apart, and covering with the hoe. 
In this mode of culture the cultivator may be used 
between the rows when the corn is from six to twelve 
inches high, and, unless the ground is very weedy, no 
other after culture is generally needed. The first sow- 
ing commonly takes place about the usual time of corn 
planting, and this is succeeded by other sowings, at 
intervals of a week or ten days, till July, in order to 
have a succession of green fodder. But, if it is designed 
to cut it up to cure for winter use, an early sowing is 
generally preferred, in order to be able to cure it in 
warm weather, in August or early in September. Sown 
in this way, about three or four bushels of corn are re- 
quired for an acre ; since, if sown thickly, the fodder is 
better, the stalks smaller, and the waste less. 

The chief difficulty in curing corn cultivated for this 
purpose, and after the methods spoken of, arises mainly 
from the fact that it comes at a season when the weather 
is often colder, the days shorter, and the dews heavier, 
than when the curing of hay takes place. Nor is the 
curing of corn cut up green so easy and simple as that 
of drying the stalks of Indian corn cut above the ear, 
as in our common practice of topping, since then the 
plant is riper, less juicy, and cures more readily. The 
method sometimes adopted is to cut and tie into small 
bundles, after it is somewhat wilted, and stook upon the 
ground, where it is allowed to stand, subject to all the 
changes of the weather, with only the protection of the 
stook itself The stocks consist of bunches of stalks 
first bound in small bundles, and arc made sufficiently 
large to prevent the wind from blowing them over. 



340 KILN-DRYING INDIAN CORN. 

The arms are thrown around the tops to bring them 
together as closely as possible, when the tops are broken 
over or twisted together, or otherwise fastened, in order 
to make the stook '' shed the rain " as well as possible. 
In this condition they stand out till sufficiently dried to 
put into the barn. 

But Indian corn stooked in this way often becomes 
musty or covered with dust, while the rains often soak 
it thoroughly and wash out much of its soluble matter, 
and its nutritive value is in a great measure lost. Be- 
sides, every one knows that to cut up a green plant, as 
a willow or any other thriftily-growing plant or shrub, 
and set it up with the cut end resting upon the ground, 
where it can still derive moisture from the soil, will 
prevent its drying. There can be no doubt, also, that 
the exposure to the sun, wind, and rain, greatly injures 
it, by removing much of its sweetness, or changing it 
to woody fibre, while it takes from it its beautiful fresh 
green color. 

To avoid the losses necessarily attending these modes 
of curing, some have suggested kiln-drying as far pref- 
erable, and, on the whole, as economical. I have 
known the experiment tried in one or two instances 
with complete success, the fodder coming out with its 
fresh green color, and apparently better relished by 
cattle than that dried in the ordinary way. This 
method appears to me to be worthy of much more 
extended and careful experiment. The kiln need not 
be elaborately or expensively contrived. The process 
of drying would be short, and the labor slight. 

Another mode which has been suggested is to hang 
it up in sheds open to the air, precisely as tobacco is 
cured. This process would be longer, but the nutritive 
qualities of the plant would probably be better pre- 
served than if cured in the open air, with the exposure 



THE METHODS OF BAKING. 341 

to the frequent changes of the weather. It is hardly 
necessary to say that, if it is proposed to cure in this 
way, it should be hung up thinly, and the air should be 
allowed to circulate through it. After being well dried, 
it is taken down and stowed away in the barn for use. 
This method avoids the trouble of stooking, and the 
liability to injury from rains and dews, which blacken 
the stalks, though it requires considerable room, and is, 
of course, attended with some additional labor. 




Fig. 164. 



Hay, when sufficiently cured, is gathered either with 
the common hand-rake, Fig. 164, or most frequently with 
the horse-rake. Figs. 165 and 166. 

This implement has come into almost universal use, 
and no farmer of any extent would be without one. It 
met with great opposition and encountered great ridi- 
cule on its first introduction; but has survived it all, and 
become indispensable in all thrifty and economical farm- 
ing. I shall do no more than give the authority of 
practical farmers in answer to the thirteenth question 
of the circular, ^^Have you used a Jiorse-raJce; if so, ivhat 
patent, and loith what advantage ?^^ 

To this an experienced farmer of Massachusetts thus 
replies : " I have used various horse-rakes for fifteen 
years. Much labor is saved by the use of any kind of 
horse-rake that has been introduced within that time. > 

" Horse-rakes are on a footing different from mowing 

machines. Grass may be cut in the morning, in the 

evening, or in a cloudy day. But hay must be raked 

at the very right time, or it may be entirely spoiled. 

29* 



342 



THE HOESE-RAKE. 



It is, therefore, quite important to do work quick, when 
the time for doing it comes. With a good rake, a man 
and horse will gather more hay in half an hour than a 
laborer with a hand-rake usually gathers in a long alter- 
noon, — that is, one acre; this is considered a half-day's 
raking by hand-rake. 




Fig. 165. Revolving Eake. 



" The independent rake operates very well. The old 
revolving rake, Fig. 165, costs about the same. One 
objection to the spring-tooth rake is, that the wire teeth 
scratch up too much earth." This is seen in Fig. 166. 




Fig. 166. Spring-tooth Rake. 



A practical farmer of large experience says : " I have 
used what is called the independent horse-rake, Delano's 
patent, and with great advantage. I have also used the re- 
volving and the spring-tooth rake. I prefer the independ- 



THE INDEPENDENT RAKE. 343 

ent. In short, it is my opinion that no modern inven- 
tion of agricultural implements has made so great a 
saving over the old method of performing farm work 
as the independent horse-rake." 

Another farmer says : " I have used Delano's inde- 
pendent rake for several years. I regard it as a valua- 
ble implement, saving thirty per cent., at least, of labor 
and time. This rake ought to be made of better mate- 
rials and with more care, or it will be given up for some 
other." The complaint that it is very badly made, and 
constantly liable to get out of order in consequence, is 
very general. 

Another practical farmer says : " I have used a re- 
volver ever since I commenced working oh a farm, and 
would as soon think of haying without a pitchfork as 
without a horse-rake." 

" I used an iron-toothed rake three seasons," says 
another farmer, " and I thought with profit ; but I 
bought one of Delano's independent rakes, and I think 
it is worth three times as much as any iron-toothed one, 
as it does not make the hay so dusty as the others. It 
is also a great saving in time and labor, as a boy twelve 
years old will rake as much with Delano's patent, as a 
man and boy with any other kind I have ever seen, 
and do it better. I have used one of this kind for four 
seasons, and it has not cost me twenty-five cents a year 
for repairs, although my farm is rough and rocky." — 
" The horse-rake is a great labor-saving implement," an- 
other says. " For several successive years I used the 
revolving horse-rake to good advantage. There was 
labor in it, but it is a good rake. Delano's patent — 
the independent tooth horse-rake — has taken the place 
of the revolver with me ; it is managed witli much 
more ease, the teeth each one acting independent of 
all others, at all times laying on the surface, whether 



344 



OPINIONS OF FARMERS. 



even or otherwise, will rake cleaner than the revolver, 
and will not get so much dirt ou the hay as will the 
spring-tooth." 

And another : " I use the wire-tooth. The independ- 
ent or wheel rake is used some ; both are good. I cut 
about sixty tons of hay, and my rake I have no doubt 
saves me twenty dollars every year. First in labor, 
and second in quality of hay, — everything being 
raked at night." Another says : " We have used the 
revolving horse-rake for the last ten years or more, 
and my opinion is that, could I have my choice 
between six men or a horse and rake, after dinner, 
with a quantity of hay to secure, I should take the 
latter." 




Fig. 167. The Loafer Rake. 



A very successful farmer says : " We formerly used 
the revolver with good success ; but for the last four 
or five years we have used Delano's independent horse- 
rake, and like it better than the revolver, as it is easier 
for the horse, easier for the person who uses it, and 
rakes better on uneven land. The great difficulty with 
the independent rake is, that it is so wretchedly made 
that our farmers cannot depend upon it, and they com- 
plain of its getting out of order at times when they 
most need it. They are compelled to resort to the 
use of other patents which are not so convenient, on 



IMPLEMENTS BADLY MADE. 



345 



account of their being better constructed." Another 
says : " I have used the independent horse-rake for 
seven years, and find it a great labor-saving machine. 







^W':^^' 



It has not cost me a dollar to keep in repair, and it is 
now as good as iieio, though most farmers who use it 
say it is liable to get out of order, from being very 



346 carpentee's horse-rake. 

badly manufactured. This, if true, is enough to con- 
demn any farm implement, because farmers are not 
generally so situated as to be able to afford such fre- 
quent mishaps." 

Still another patent, which promises to be a great 
addition to our present facilities for raking hay, has 
been introduced under the name of " Carpenter's Im- 
proved Horse-rake." This rake is seen in Fig. 168. 
The parties interested claim for it very important 
advantages over the horse-rakes now in common use. 
The driver rides upon the rake comfortably seated, and 
by means of a lever, which he can move at will, and 
without changing his position, frees the hay gathered in 
the teeth of the rake. 

It is a double rake, made for both smooth and rough 
ground. On smooth ground the wheels may be used, 
while on rough ground the driver may walk behind and 
manage it with ease, and adapt it without difficulty to 
inequalities of surface. As it is a new implement, and 
has not been extensively used, I cannot speak of it from 
personal observation or experience. 

The frequent losses to which farmers are subject in 
making hay have suggested the use of hay-caps, made 
to cover the cocks and protect them from the weather. 
It is but recently that their use was introduced, and, 
like most novelties, it has met with objections from 
some on the score of economy, while their use is as 
strongly approved by others on the same ground. I 
have often seen them used, and the time taken to cover 
an acre of grass or hay in cock partially cured is less 
than most would naturall}'^ suppose. Where they are to 
be used, less care is needed for " trimming down" the 
cock, and putting it in a condition to shed the rain in 
the best possible manner. 

An experienced practical farmer says : " I have used 



USE OF HAY-CAPS. 



347 



hay-caps with good results. I have one hundred made 
of cotton sheeting, two yards square, with pins attached 
to the four corners with strong twine ; the hundred 
cost me just forty dollars. I think they have saved me 
twenty dollars this year. I had at one time this season 
one hundred and thirty cocks standing out in a six 
days' storm. One hundred were covered, and, not 
having caps enough, thirty were left uncovered. The 
uncovered was worth but little, while the covered was 




Fig. 169. Hay-caps. 

passable hay. I stocked some oats, which I capped. 
They stood a two days* rain without injury." And 
another : " Our caps are made of heavy five-fourths 
cotton cloth, cut square, with four little loops, through 
which we run a slim wooden pin into the hay-cock. 
The pins hold it better than weights in the corner. 
Ours cost twenty-one cents apiece. Have saved the 
cost in one storm this season." 

" In reply to your question as to the utility of hay- 
caps," says another farmer, '' it gives me pleasure to 



348 ECONOMY OF HAY-CAPS. 

say that, after using them constantly, for the last seven 
years, I consider them of the first importance in the 
most critical branch of farming. 

" I can safely affirm that my hay has been intrinsically 
worth, on the average, one or two dollars a ton more 
than my neighbors', which has been proved by the 
remarkable health of my animals. 

"My horses have not been sick an hour, and the 
heaves are unknown in my stable, which may fairly be 
attributed to the fact that no musty hay ever enters my 
barn ; and it is probable that the milk of cows may be 
as unhealthy, if they eat badly-cured hay, as if fed on 
what is called swill in the cities. 

" Having these covers always at hand, it has been my 
practice to mow my grass when it was ready, without 
consulting the almanac, or waiting for a change of the 
moon ; and the result has been that I have had more 
than my share of good luck in this important branch of 
business. 

** They are also very useful as a protection against 
heavy dews, and as a cover for coarse clover and 
Timothy I consider them indispensable. 

" After long experience, 1 have found the most ap- 
proved method of making the hay-covers, which may 
be used for wheat and other grain crops with great 
advantage, is to take stout unbleached cotton sheeting, 
of a suitable width, say from thirty-seven to forty-five 
inches wide, — the latter is the best, — cut it into 
squares, and attach to each corner, by a string or other- 
Avise, a pin made of wood, twelve or fifteen inches long, 
cut off smooth at one end and rounded over at the 
other, which completes the affair. The size of the pin 
should be about an inch in diameter. 

" Hemming the selvages is a matter of fancy, as they 
would do very well without it ; and, if a tannery is near 



A PERMANENT STRUCTURE. 349 

by, it would greatly improve them to plunge them 
into a vat for two or three days. This would thicken 
up the cloth an inch or two, and make it more durable, 
as well as much more effectual. A decoction of bark, 
with alum, or some other astringent, would probably 
answer equally as well ; but this is not necessary, to 
make an excellent hay-cover. Like a cotton umbrella, 
the first dash of a heavy shower would cause it to 
spatter through for a moment, but would do little or no 
harm. I doubt whether a larger size than forty-five 
inches square, or fort3^-five by fifty, would be desirable. 
Mine have been not much over thirty-six inches 
square." 

Another farmer says : " I have never used them 
myself, but they are used in the neighborhood to good 
advantage. A neighbor of mine, who has used them 
for three years, says they have been worth to him this 
year the whole cost, as with them he has been able to 
get all his hay in in good order, while a large quantity, 
where they were not used, was made nearly worthless 
by the long-continued wet weather," 

A permanent structure for covering and protecting 
hay-stacks is described by a farmer, in answer to the 
question proposed in the circular, as follows : " I have 
a structure called a hay-cap, which, if farmers have not 
sufficient barn-room, I think would be economical, as hay 
can be more rapidly secured than in the common stack, 
and it obviates the necessity of fencing, and prevents the 
hay from being wet while the stack is open for feeding. 
This cap is twelve feet square, and consists of two sills, 
fourteen feet in length and eight inches square, four 
posts, five inches square and seventeen feet long, 
framed into the sills one foot from the end of the same. 
The sills are held together by two girts, framed into the 
post just above the sill. The posts are held firmly by 

30 



350 PERMANENT CAPS FOR STACKS. 

girts, placed five feet eight inches above the sills, to 
which height the box part of the structure is boarded. 
The posts above the box are perforated with holes, one 
foot apart, for the insertion of pins, to sustain the cap 
or cover. This (in form of a pyramid) should be made 
as light as possible, so that it may be readily raised by 
placing the shoulder under the corner. The frame of 
three by four joists must be large enough to fall outside 
the posts and admit of some play. The rafters are 
small joists, nine feet in length, the feet resting upon 
short pieces of joist, placed across the corners of the 
frame, thereby forming openings for the posts to pass. 
The tops of the rafters are nailed together over the 
centre of the frame. Girts should be placed half-way 
from the eaves to the point of the roof, to nail covering 
boards to. These should be good half-inch stuff, and 
run from the eaves to the rafters. The tops of the posts 
should be kept from spreading by stay lathing them. 
A hay-cap of the dimensions given will hold five tons 
of hay. The cost I do not know, as this was on the 
place at the time of my coming on to it.". 



CHAPTER XI. 

GENERAL TREATMENT OF GRASS LANDS. 

The importance of having the ground well tilled and 
thoroughly prepared by liberal manuring before com- 
mitting the seed to it, is too apparent to need remark. 
When the seed is sown, it is the common practice to 
harrow it in, either with an iron-tooth or a bush or 
brush harrow, or both ; and those who adopt a more 
careful culture follow these operations with a thorough 
rolling, which compresses the soil, and usually causes an 
earlier germination of the seed. The importance of this 
last operation, that of rolling, is too often overlooked. 
By reference to Table XIV., the importance of cover- 
ing at the proper depth is also apparent, since it will be 
seen that a large proportion of the seeds germinated 
with a very slight covering. 

Many questions of a practical character suggest them- 
selves to the farmer, after all has been done to secure 
a complete and thorough cultivation of the soil and a 
luxuriant crop, and among the first is the economy of 
fall feeding. 

This is the term applied to feeding off the aftermath 
of mowing lands, a practice which is very prevalent, 
and justified by experienced farmers rather on the plea 
of necessity than any other, since most farmers, of care- 
ful observation, admit that it is, on the whole, injurious. 
A large proportion of those who are in the habit of fall- 

(351) 



352 OPINIONS OF FARMERS. 

feeding speak like the following, from a practical farmer, 
who says : " I feed off slightly, although it Avould prob- 
ably be better for the next crop if I did not. My cows, 
however, like it, and, as they pay me well at the milk- 
pail, I like to see them enjoy themselves." Another, 
in answer to the questions of the circular, "Do you 
feed off the after-growth of your mowing lands in the 
fall? Do you think it an injury or a benefit to the 
field to feed it off?" says, "I do generally, but con- 
sider it an injury to the field." Another says : '' I do 
feed off, moderately, the after-growth of my mowing 
fields, and believe the grass worth much more so fed 
than if left on the ground to rot. A dense mass of 
dead grass is also much in the way of the scythe and 
the rake, the next year." A practical farmer in another 
section of the country says : " I feed off the after- 
growth of mowing lands only when I am compelled to 
do so in dry seasons, for want of pasture. I think it an 
injury to feed off, unless there is a large growth, which 
is better to be eaten, so that it will not fall down and 
heat the roots and kill them." 

Another says : " I feed my mowing lands in the fall, 
and think it is a benefit to the field in all cases where a 
top-dressing is used, and of no injury to an old field 
that is ploughed once in three or four years. Where a 
large growth of after-feed remains on the land, it is like 
mulching trees, — kills the grass-roots and makes a grand 
shelter in winter for mice." Another farmer says : " I 
feed it off and then top-dress it, and think it a benefit 
to the land, but should consider it an injury if I did not 
top-dress." An experienced practical farmer writes me 
as follows : " I feed it off, but think it an injury to the 
field to do so, and I should much prefer not to feed 
mowing lands at all. The grass holds in longer, and is 
of better quality. I feed it off because it is necessary 



PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE. 353 

to eke out a comfortable support for my stock." And 
another : " To some extent. I do not think it bene- 
ficial to the land to feed much every year, nor very 
injurious to feed some ; but to feed close I deem highly 
injurious." A very experienced farmer, of large obser- 
vation, writes me : " To some extent I feed it bff, not 
from choice, but convenience. The treading of the 
cattle is some injury, and they feed on the best kinds 
of grass, and leave the wild grasses to extend the area 
of their growth. In my experience, mowing grounds 
are kept in the best condition by taking off the first and 
second crops with the scythe, and biennially dressing 
with compost manures." 

This accords with the experience of another practical 
farmer, who says: "My practice is to feed the after- 
growth or mow it. To take all from the soil without 
returning an equivalent, would be injurious. My cus- 
tom is to top-dress my mowing grounds with good 
compost manure, about fifteen cart-loads to the acre, 
once in two or three years, — a portion of lots in one 
year, and a portion the next. Where the ground is not 
liable to wSsh — carry the manure oif — I prefer spread- 
ing the manure in the autumn ; it is dissolved by the 
fall rains and winter snows, and the grass is benefited 
in the early spring." 

An experienced farmer in another section says : 
" Farmers here are in the habit of feeding off their 
mowing lands in the fall, but have no doubt that the 
crop of grass would be better, the next season, not to 
feed them. Some think the injury not so great as the 
value of the feed of the after-growth." — "I have had 
considerable experience in both ways," writes an intelli- 
gent farmer, " and do not think fall feeding is any injury, 
if it is not fed too close ; prefer feeding to mowing the 
second crop, and feeding with sheep rather than cattle." 
30* 



354 EFFECT OF FALL FEEDING. 

And another: ''The feeding of dry mowing injures it 
by causing it to run out, leaving the roots exposed to 
the winter, while moist land is injured by the cattle's 
feet much more than the value of the feed, in both cases 
taking all off, and leaving nothing to renovate the land 
anothefr season." 

An experienced farmer in one of the best grazing 
towns of Massachusetts says : '" It is now more than 
twenty years since I have allowed any kind of domestic 
animal to feed upon our mown lands, and my opinion 
previously has been fully confirmed by my experience. 
It is a decided benefit to let the after-growth remain 
upon the land ; it is a pi-otection from summer's drought 
and winter's cold. Some of my neighbors are following 
my example." And another : " I sometimes feed off my 
after-grass. When I do feed it off, I take good care to 
feed it early, and leave a good growth to protect the 
roots of the grass from frost in winter. I think it an 
injury to feed ; mowings wnll last longer not to be fed 
at all, and the land when broken up will produce a bet- 
ter crop of corn or potatoes than if fed." 

From these extracts it will appear that the practice 
of fall feeding is very general, while the good judgment 
of practical farmers almost unanimously condemns it as 
injurious, especially to feed closely and late in the sea« 
son. The reasons assigned for the practice are, chiefly, 
the necessity generally felt for feed at that season of 
the year, and the importance, in some situations, — par- 
ticularly on interval lands, — of removing all protection 
for the mice, which frequently prove very destructive 
to the roots when buried with the snow in winter. All 
condemn the practice of too close feeding, under all 
circumstances. 

The fall growth collects the elements of a thrifty 
growth in the following spring. These are stored up 



IMPKOVEMENT OF PASTURES. 355 

in the roots over winter for the early use of the plant. 
If it is closely fed, the spring growth must be propor- 
tionably later and feebler. 

But one of the most important questions which the 
farmer in the older sections of the country has to meet 
is the proper treatment of his pasture lands. Many of 
our old pastures have been stocked hard, time out of 
mind, and the grasses in them have been literally 
starved out, and grow thin of necessity, while, as the 
finer and nutritious grasses disappear, nature very 
kindly covers up the nakedness of the soil with moss, 
as an evidence of the efiect, and not the cause, of 
poverty. They are said to be " worn " or " run out." 
Many of them are grown over with bushes and briers, 
and other equally worthless pests, till they carry but 
one animal to four or five acres, and often require twice 
that amount to keep an animal on foot, to say nothing 
of fattening him. It is a well-known saying, that " poor 
pastures make breachy cattle." 

Undoubtedly, thousands of acres in the older states 
would be far more profitably covered with pines than 
with cattle, and many an observing farmer is now con- 
vinced of this fact ; but still we must have pasture 
lands, and there are circumstances where it becomes 
important to improve them, and increase their produc- 
tiveness. Some of them are so situated that they can 
be ploughed, and thus brought in, with other cultivated 
lands, to the general rotation ; and where this can be 
done, it may be, on the whole, the best and most eco- 
nomical mode of improving them. 

In answer to the circular on a preceding page, an 
intelligent farmer writes me : " I have renovated my 
old pasture land by pulling up the bushes by the roots, 
scarifying the foul or mossy places with the harrow, 
and sowing on grass-seed and clover, both red and 



356 OLD PASTURE LANDS. 

white." Another says, in answer to question 16, — 
What is the best mode of renovating okl, worn-out pas- 
tures? — ''Plough, manure, and re-seed. Some have 
sown rye with the grass-seed, and then let the stock 
feed on the rye, as it will not produce any seed-stalks. 
It sometimes lasts three years. This method has been 
put in practice with marked success. On our hills, 
ground plaster or gypsum has brought in the ■white 
clover the next year after sowing." Another practical 
farmer says : " The best method I have found is to 
plough in forty loads of good stable manure to the acre, 
plant, hoe, and kill the bushes and moss, then seed down 
with redtop and white clover, instead of taking a crop 
of rye without adding anything to the soil, then seeding 
down with 'barn chaff,' as many do;" while an ex- 
perienced farmer of another section says : " If the pas- 
ture lands can be ploughed, do it in the month of June, 
say seven inches deep, harrow thoroughly, sow one 
hundred pounds of Peruvian guano and three pecks of 
buckwheat per acre, harrowing them in at tlie same 
time. Sow as much grass-seed and of the kind best 
adapted to the soil as you please, and bush it in. 
I have tried twenty acres at a time with good suc- 
ces.s." 

Another writes me as follows, in answer to question 
16: "It can be done in various ways. I have a piece 
of pasture land near my house that bore hardly a spire 
of grass, and nothing else, except five-finger and other 
weeds that usually grow on old, worn-out pine plains, 
and I commenced twenty-four years ago by sowing 
Timothy and redtop, and a bushel and a half of plaster 
of Paris per acre, once in two years, up to this time ; 
the grass increased from year to year, so as to cover 
most of the land in thirteen years. Ten years ago I 
commenced ploughing it. I ploughed about one acre, 



HOW TO EENOVATE PASTURES. 357 

and put on fifteen loads of compost manure, and planted 
it with corn. I sowed it down in the fall with rye, 
Timothy, and redtop, and sowed clover in the spring, 
and about a bushel and a half of plaster of Paris per 
acre. The next year I ploughed another part, and 
manured it the same, except that I planted this with 
melons, dunged in the hill, seven feet apart, and then 
sowed it down in the fall the same as tlie other piece. 
The next year I took up the remainder, and all the 
manure I put on the piece, except in the hill, was the 
water carted on it from a hole in my barn-yard. It was 
immediately ploughed under, then holed and dunged in 
the hill seven feet apart, planted with melons, and in 
the fall sowed as the other parts. Since that it has con- 
tinued to bear very large grass. When I have turned 
my cattle into it, the first of June, I have judged, and 
others who have seen it, that, had I not pastured it, I 
might have cut a ton to the acre. The soil of this piece 
consists mostly of sand, resting upon a subsoil of gravel. 
Most of our pastures are spoiled by feeding off too 
early in the spring, and over-stocking. Cattle should 
not be turned in till the first of June, and then not 
over-stocked ; so that there will always be spots of 
grass to go to seed, which will keep the pasture well 
stocked with grass. Always keep your pasture stocked 
with grass. If you cannot keep it on any other way, 
sow on Timothy and redtop, and harrow it in, once a 
year. I prefer to do it in August ; but any other month 
in which you are most at leisure will do." 

Another experienced farmer says : " Old pastures 
should be ploughed and planted when they are not too 
rough for those operations. They may then be seeded 
down in July among corn or beans, or grain may be 
sown with the grass-seed in the following spring. But 
we have too much rough pasture unfit for the plough. 



358 PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE. 

It should never have been cleared for pasturing, but 
should have been left to run to Avood. Such rough 
lands are often much improved by sowing plaster at the 
rate of two hundred pounds per acre. Plaster gene- 
rally works well on clays and clayey loams, which are 
not wet." And another: " Where I have ploughed and 
planted old pastures, and then seeded anew, tiie cattle 
get a much better living." One of the best farmers of 
my acquaintance, in reply to the same question, says : 
" Either by ploughing, rolling, and sowing down grass- 
seed and grain in September or April, or ploughing in 
manure, after removing the crop on old ground, and 
cross plough in the spring, then spread and harrow in 
guano, at the rate of three hundred pounds per acre, or 
a good dressing of compost, and sow Rhode Island bent, 
or redtop, and white and red clover, with some variety 
of grain ; or by scarifying mossy ground, and sowing in 
grass-seed and harrowing it, then applying three hun- 
dred pounds of guano, or one bushel and one peck of 
salt, or ashes from ten to twenty bushels per acre, 
harrow and bush the ground. Sow early in fall or 
spring." 

A farmer, who has lived and had a large observation 
in England, says : " Some farmers say the plough. But 
in England, where old pastures are seldom broken up, I 
have kjiown extraordinary results from top-dressing 
with crushed bones, more particularly on the large 
dairy farms in Cheshire. I am sorry I cannot give you 
the quantities. A neighbor of mine has harrowed an 
old, worn-out pasture, dressed with a liberal coating of 
Barilla ashes, from six to seven cords per acre, and 
sowed white clover, and rolled it. It came out a beau- 
tiful pasture. The brush harrow and roller, applied to 
all grass land in the spring, will amply repay for the 
labor. Breaking and spreading the cattle droppings on 



USE OF PLASTER. 359 

the pasture land is well worth attending to." The 
methods of renovating pastures by top-dressing will be 
alluded to hereafter. 

A farmer of Massachusetts says, in answer to the six- 
teenth question of the circular: 

" This depends on the kind of land to be reclaimed. 
If it can be ploughed, I would plough it and plant it 
with potatoes or something else, to make it mellow and 
fine, and then sow it to grass. If it is too rough or 
stony to plough, — which is the case with a large share 
of the pasturing in this section, — but is good, sweet, 
warm land, I would feed it with sheep. I have a pas- 
ture of this description, that, a few years ago, was 
covered with briers and bushes so thick that there was 
but very little grass upon it. I cut off the bushes, and 
put on sheep enough to eat everything that grew upon 
it for four or five years. They have killed all the 
briers, and most of the bushes. I have sowed some 
plaster of Paris, which is all I have done to it, and now 
one acre is worth and will produce more feed than 
three would ten years ago. I should say that my sheep 
have always done well on this pasture. If the land is 
cold and wet, and inclined to grow bushes, I let it 
go, and never try to reclaim it, unless it is near the 
buildings, or near the village, where the land is very 
high. In that case it may pay to ditch and work it 
into good smooth land." 

Another practical farmer, of great experience, says : 
" We have a variety of soil in this town ; some of the 
best of pasture lands, stony soils, generally clay sub- 
soil. Plaster of Paris is our renovator for pasturage. 
It works most admirably on almost all of our lands. 
Two hundred pounds to the acre, applied once in two 
or three years, in early spring, will keep our pastures 
•rood." And another : " The best method I have ever 



3G0 RUNNING UP TO WOOD. 

used is to fence in small pieces, and then stock bard 
with sheep. Feed it down till no green thing remains ; 
then turn the sheep ofi" days and on nights till Septem- 
ber ; then harrow the land with a sharp harrow, and 
sow on grass-seed, keeping the cattle off the remainder 
of the season." 

" It will improve an old pasture merely to plough and 
re-seed it, without manure," says another; " but this is 
a slow mode, and not to be recommended where it is 
possible to apply some sort of dressing. A better 
method is, Avithout doubt, to plant for a year or two, 
manuring well, before sowing grass-seed. The soil, by 
being thus thoroughly stirred and exposed to atmos- 
pheric influences, will give a sweeter grass, and per- 
haps more of it. But it is not always convenient to 
plant a part of a pasture. In such cases great benefit 
would result from simply ploughing, manuring, and 
seeding to grass immediately." 

But perhaps the best disposition that can be made of 
many of our poor, thin pasture lands, and one which 
has incidentally been alluded to, is to take the cattle 
from them entirely, and cultivate them with forest 
trees. This is frequently recommended, in answer to 
the question proposed in the circular. One farmer 
speaks in the following words : " Old, worn-out pasture 
lands, that cannot be renovated by gypsum or ashes, 
had better be suffered to run up to wood. Pine lands 
can be seeded in the fall with a crop of winter rye, or 
without. Pine-seed can be obtained by taking pains to 
collect the burrs before they are open, and drying them 
in some place where they can be threshed. This is 
white-pine-seed year." 

This, I am convinced, will be found to be perfectly 
practicable, and a rapid growth of pine wood, inter- 
mixed, as it should always be, with some deciduous 



CULTURE OF PINES. 361 

growth, like the white birch, will be found to be more 
profitable than the use to which pastures are now gene- 
rally put. 

1 know many pastures, of good, strong soil, never 
ploughed within the memory of the living, some of 
which are known not to have been ploughed for a 
hundred and fifty years, which require from eight to 
ten acres to a cow, so entirely buried are they in moss 
and bushes. Such lands can be planted with pines at a 
small cost, and would soon be covered with a growth 
which would pay a large percentage on the outlay. 

I have examined over a thousand acres of cultivated 
pines, in different parts of the country, varying in age 
from three months to twenty years, and can testify to 
the surprising rapidity with which such a plantation 
will cover the ground, concealing the fact of their 
being planted by the hand of man, and assuming the 
appearance of a dense forest. 

In one instance, the owner informed me that his plan- 
tation had averaged him a cord to the acre every year, 
for twenty years, during which it had been planted, 
while the land, a light, barren sand, had apparently been 
improved, and a thick undergrowth of hard wood was 
evidently ready to succeed the pine, when the oppor- 
tunity offered. I have seen a growth of pitch pine, 
made in one year, of over two feet six inches in length, 
by measurement, and a growth of white pine, made in 
the same time, of two feet nine inches. The growth of 
wood is generally interrupted by the drought, during 
the hottest months of summer, and then starts out a 
new growth in the autumn ; but, in very moist seasons, 
it continues, with extraordinary vigor, all through the 
season. The average growth woiild not, of course, 
equal that stated above. 

But still there are circumstances, and they are not i)y 
SI 



362 TREATMENT OF PASTURES. 

any means nnfreqiient, where it is both practicable and 
desirable to take other methods of improvements for 
pasture and grass lands. 

The idea was formerly entertained that pasture lands 
were sufficiently enriched by the animals which fed 
them. Practical men begin to think otherwise ; for it 
is found that a profitable return is made for the little 
outlay which they require. Particularly is this the case 
with pastures fed by milch cows. They do not return 
the essential elements of the plant to the ground in so 
large a proportion to what they take from it as some 
other animals. These elements are required in great 
quantities to form their milk, while in other animals 
they are required only to form bone and muscle. The 
manure made by cows is, therefore, less valuable and 
fertilizing than that of some other animals. The con- 
sequence is, that lands fed wholly by cows are exhausted 
sooner than those fed by other animals. For it is evi- 
dent that where more is taken from the soil than is 
returned, exhaustion must follow. 

We furnish animal and vegetable matters to the earth 
to supply it with substances which the growth of plants 
has taken from it. It will be obvious, on a moment's 
reflection, that the constituent parts of the plant are 
taken up from the earth and the air, in somewhat the 
same manner as our food and drink become our bone and 
flesh. The analogy is still more distinct when we reflect 
that all our applications for the improvement of the soil 
are nothing more than the supply of food for plants. 
For the food of plants is found in all manures, and the 
value of these depends upon the quantity they contain. 

The methods of renovating mowing and pasture lands 
by means of top-dressings do not essentially differ. An 
interesting experiment fell under my observation not 
long ago, where common meadow mud, rich barn and 



MIXTURE OF SOILS. 363 

liquid manure impregnated with lime, were used as a top- 
dressing on different parts of the same field. The mud 
was hauled out in the autumn and thrown in iieaps, and 
there left to the action of the frosts and snows of win- 
ter. In spring it was spread about the same time the 
other manure was applied. Strange as it may seem, the 
top to which the mud was applied appeared to far the 
best advantage. The grass was heavier, and, after the 
crop had been removed, that part of tlie field on which 
the mud was applied came in more quickly and kixu- 
riantly than the rest. This field was a light, gravelly 
soil, which had not been under very high cultivation. 

Many of our soils are gravelly, with a mixture of 
sand. These soils need a mixture of marl and meadow 
mud. Marl and mud contain the carbonate, or in some 
cases the sulphate of lime, or plaster of Paris, and often 
a mixture of clay, which sandy or gravelly soils need. 
On these soils clayey mud has been found to do the 
best. Peat mud is a rich vegetable food ; and if a 
small proportion of potash, or ashes, be added, it is val- 
uable as a manure. 

Light soils are always improved by any substances 
which make them firmer and more compact. Stiff clay 
soils, on the other hand, are benefited by applications 
which make them lighter and more permeMble. No one 
of the three kinds of earth, sand, clay, and lime, when 
unmixed with the other varieties, would be capable of 
supporting vegetation. The mixture of them, when any 
one predominates, will correct and improve them; since 
it is well known that the fertility of soils depends upon 
the relative proportions of their different constituents. 
In some marls the clay predominates, and these should 
be used on the light, sandy soils ; in others, the sand 
predominates, and these are adapted to stiffer lands. 
The practice of mixing soils has always been attended 



364 TEXTURE OF THE SOIL. 

with success when judiciously managed, and it offers a 
practicable means of improvement, 

Nor is this application of mud and clay any new fact 
to the practical agriculturist. The county of Norfolk, 
in England, is said to owe much of its great fertility to 
this source. The greatest European improvements in 
sandy soils have been made by these means in Belgium. 
As intimated in the experiment alluded to, it has always 
been found best to expose the mud or clay to the action 
of the frost. It becomes mellowed so that it may be 
spread evenly upon the ground. Peat mud is composed 
of vegetable matter which has been accumulating for 
ages. When taken fresh it is found to contain an 
amount of acid which would make it improper for im- 
mediate use. Exposure to the frost, wind, and rain, 
will, in time, entirely neutralize the acid properties. 
Ashes, or potash, would have the same effect in a much 
shorter time. 

These substances may be said rather to ameliorate 
and improve the texture of soils than to furnish imme- 
diate sustenance to the plant. And in this view they 
cannot be too strongly recommended ; for we have 
never known them to fail of having beneficial effects, 
both on pasture and mowing lands. And, besides, the 
application of them is so simple, so much within the 
reach of every farmer, that it is well worth the trial. 
If the soils are much worn, or very barren from a great 
preponderance of any particular earth, a liberal allow- 
ance will be required ; but, ordinarily, as in the experi- 
ments which have come under my notice, some twenty- 
five or thirty cart-loads to the acre have been found 
sufficient to increase very greatly the productiveness 
of the land, while a still less quantity would be of essen- 
tial service. Nor is the expense of this application so 
great as some imagine ; for almost every farm contains a 



USE OP LIME. 365 

quantity of waste peat meadow, and clay is frequently 
near at hand. It may be removed and prepared at a 
season of the year when there is but little else to do. 
The expense, therefore, need not deter any one from 
its use. 

But there is another substance equally accessible, 
which acts both as an ameliorator and a fertilizer of 
the soil. It is, perhaps, one of the cheapest and most 
profitable top-dressings. It is the rich loam which 
accumulates in the holes by the road-side, and wherever 
the wash gathers from hills. Every one has observed 
the effect of the loam thrown out upon the grass in 
ploughing. The grass along the edges soon becomes 
greener in spring, and grows with greater luxuriance. 
The wash by the road-side would have a far more power- 
ful effect. For this contains, besides the putrescent ani- 
mal matters from the road, a quantity of fine sand, whicii 
rich soils, wanting closeness and consistency, require on 
the surface. Spread upon such soils when covered with 
grass, it is very efficacious, and often makes the vegeta- 
tion as vigorous as stimulating manure. Experiments 
have clearly shown that the effect of sand on some soils 
is to operate as a manure. 

Among the mineral manures, lime has sometimes been 
used as a top-dressing. Its effect arises not so much 
from any direct nutriment furnished by it to the grass, 
as from its influence on the substfinces in the soil. It 
hastens the decomposition of vegetable and mineral 
matters in the earth ; and in this way it may be said to 
renew exhausted soils. It increases the temperature 
of cold, sour lands, after being drained, and causes a 
rapid decay of peat substances. Hence its use in the 
compost heap. It destroys the mosses and coarse herb- 
age which work in among the grasses, and indicate the 
want of lime in the soil. It produces from them a fine 
31* 



366 EFFECT OF LIME. 

vegetable mould, by causing the white and red clover, 
and some natural grasses, to come in thicker and thicker 
each year. Lime produces a more marked effect on the 
grasses than on any other crop. It seems, very fre- 
quently, to increase the nutritive quaHty of the grasses, 
as well as to increase their quantity, by assisting them 
to elaborate the juices, the albuminous substances, and 
the sugar, in which their value as food for stock largely 
consists. 

But lime can never supply the place of other manures. 
There are properties which it cannot supply, which plas- 
ter can ; others which it cannot supply, as bones can; 
and others wliich it cannot supply, like ashes, and ma- 
nures that contain salts. There are situations, however, 
in which it is invrduable. On reclaimed meadow lands, 
after thorough draining, and a covering of three or four 
inches of gravel, a top-dressing of lime has a beneficial 
effect. Crops of grass of two and three tons to the 
acre have been taken after such a dressing of lime. In 
many cases the first crop will repay the expense of 
bringing such land into cultivation. In these situations, 
then, as well as on many pastures, it may be called one 
of the most useful applications that can be made. Such 
lands will bear an abundant supply of lime without 
exhaustion. But on poor, sandy soils it should never 
be used. It will soon exhaust and may render them 
completely barren. When it meets with clay in lands 
to which it is applied, it forms a kind of marl, and 
greatly improves the texture of the soil ; but, when it 
comes in contact with sand, it forms, rather, a sort of 
mortar. Hence it is thought to be injurious on sandy 
soils. Many soils have naturally a sufficient quantity of 
lime, and on these a further application is not needed. 

No definite rule, with respect to the amount required, 
can be given. It must depend upon the nature of the 



USE OF ASHES. 367 

soil, and must be left to the judgment of those who use 
it. In general, on peat and clay soils, from ten to fifty 
bushels to the acre will be required, though less would, 
perhaps, be beneficial. 

The addition of lime to the compost heap is often of 
great importance. The decay of all vegetable sub- 
stances is accelerated by it ; but it should not be 
brought in contact with decaying or fermenting animal 
substances, unless covered by a thick coating of peat or 
other absorbent. Whenever lime is used in a compost, 
— unless it be for the special purpose of hastening the 
fermentation of vegetable substances, — it ought to be 
mixed with salt, by dissolving the salt first in water and 
slacking the lime with it. A bushel of salt will thus 
prepare four bushels of lime. Refuse brine will answer 
very well. 

We come now to the use of ashes as a top-dressing. 
Of this we ma}^ speak with more confidence ; for, while 
experiments with lime have not invariably proved suc- 
cessful, owing, probably, to the soils designed to be 
benefited, we know of no instances in which the appli- 
cation of ashes has not fully repaid the expense. If 
farmers would bear in mind that ashes contain most 
of the elements which assist plant-growth, they would 
be unwilling to part with a substance which they miglit 
turn to such profit. If the quantity is small, let it be 
husbanded with the greater care, instead of being sold, 
with the idea that so few can do no good. One sub- 
stantial farmer says : " I am now, more than ever, fully 
persuaded of the value of ashes as a manure. Nothing 
in the whole catalogue of manures compares with them 
on my land. The soil Avas a thin, clayey loam, and 
where the ashes were sown there was a crop of excel- 
lent clover, where for years the land had been almost 
unproductive." 



368 LEACHED AND UNLEACHED ASHES. 

Grasses are often more benefited by ashes than other 
crops, since they require a greater amount of the salts 
which ashes contain. For all permanent mowing lands, 
especially on the lighter soils, ashes are among the 
cheapest of manures, where they can be had in sufficient 
quantities. In parts of Flanders and Belgium, countries 
in which the science of agriculture has been carried to 
a high perfection, the great loss of inorganic matters 
from the soil is constantly restored by ashes or bones, 
together with other manures to be mentioned hereafter. 
Indeed, almost all agriculturists, both in Europe and 
America, have attached very great importance to the use 
of ashes. In some parts of Germany they are held in so 
high esteem that they are transported to a distance of 
eighteen or twenty miles, to be used as a top-dressing. 

According to Professor Liebig, with every one hun- 
dred and ten pounds of leached ashes of the common 
beech-tree, spread upon the soil, we furnish as much 
phosphate as five hundred and seven pounds of the 
richest manures could yield. Now, phosphates are 
highly useful to all kinds of soil. 

There can be no doubt that the process of leaching 
takes from the ashes a part of their fertilizing proper- 
ties. For many uses this is no objection. Especially 
is this the case near the sea, where leached ashes are 
thought by some to be even more serviceable, as the 
gas in the atmosphere the more readily combines with 
them. Every practical man has heard of the amazing 
effects which bone-dust has upon the soil. Yet this is 
valuable chiefly for the phosphate it contains. But, if 
we may rely upon the statement of Professor Liebig. 
leached ashes also contain a large amount of phosphate 
of lime, which would show them to be extremely valua- 
ble. But, suppose we allow four bushels of leached 
ashes to one bushel of crushed bones, the expense of 



ASHES AND PEAT MUD. 369 

the ashes would, in most cases, be less than the bones. 
But, if bones can be procured, a mixture of leached 
ashes and bones, four bushels to one, forms a very use- 
ful application. The compound should remain a week 
or two before being used. 

Those who have tried leached ashes have been fully 
satisfied of their superior qualities as a fertilizer. Care- 
ful experiments, by practical, conservative men, show 
that land producing one ton to the acre has been so 
improved by this means as to yield three tons to the 
acre. Where thirty bushels were used on three-fourths 
of an acre, in one instance, the crop was increased more 
than three-fold. Nor are leached ashes subject to the 
objections which are raised by some against the use of 
lime. They do not apparently exhaust the soil. The 
eflfect of them is felt for several years. Many farmers 
have found, by experience, that one bushel of unleached 
hard-wood ashes is nearly equal to two bushels of plas- 
ter, as a top-dressing for the drier grass lands. If this 
be true, what has been said would show that leached 
ashes are about equal to plaster in their effects on such 
lands, A peck of lime is commonly used in leaching a 
bushel of ashes. This, of course, adds to the value of 
leached ashes for grasses. They contain, also, a por- 
tion of the alkali which is decomposed by the action of 
the atmosphere, and the water in the soil prepares it for 
the food of plants. 

As we have already spoken of the use of peat mud, 
it is proper here to say that ashes may be mixed with 
mud in the proportion of six or eight bushels to the 
cord. The mud is better, as usual, dug in the autumn, 
though the mixture might be made in the spring, or on 
application to the soil. If leached ashes are used, the 
proportion may be about one to three. In this case 
the two substances mutually assist each other, and the 



370 USE OF SEA-WEED. 

compound is, perhaps, better than either alone would 
be. So potash, added to peat mud, makes a valuable 
compound. 

In this connection allusion might be made to the 
practice of burning sea-weed as a manure, and spread- 
ing the ashes upon grass and pasture land. They form 
a very useful and powerful stimulant, but the process 
of burning causes the loss of some of its most fertiliz- 
ing qualities. The most common and efficient mode of 
application is to carry it directly upon the grass as a 
top-dressing. The coarse rock-weed and kelp decay in 
a much shorter time than the fine sea-weed, and are no 
doubt far better than this. Sea-weed is best on sandy 
or gravelly soils, where from twenty-five to thirty, or 
even forty cart-loads to the acre, are sometimes applied. 
Peat ashes form, in some cases, a very valuable top- 
dressing for grass and pasture lands. In Holland, where 
every fertilizer is preserved with care, peat ashes, as 
well as wood and coal ashes, are highly esteemed. The 
great value of the first is well known to many, and if 
those who have them wall spread them upon grass, at 
the rate of fifteen or twenty bushels on the ligliter, and 
thirty or forty on the heavier soils, they will be abun- 
dantly repaid. 

If what has been said be true, — and it is the result of 
many experiments, some of which have come directly 
under m}^ own observation, — farmers would do better to 
buy ashes, on the return of ever}'- spring, than to sell 
them, as is often done in some sections of the country. 

Of the use of gypsum, or plaster of Paris, the most 
contradictory opinions have been expressed. So far as 
my observation goes, — and I have both seen and tried 
many interesting experiments on old pasture soils and 
mowing lands, — the application to moist soils has been 
satisfactory. It has been said that plaster does not 



PLASTER OF PARIS. 371 

benefit natural pastures. This, I apprehend, depends 
chiefly on the character of the soil. In one instance, 
within my knowledge, a large pasture, which had be- 
come worn and somewhat unproductive, received a 
generous top-dressing of plaster. The grass started 
sooner, and continued throughout the season to look 
far better, than the adjoining pastures of precisely the 
same soil. So far as could be ascertained, the increase 
in grass over the adjoining pastures was about seventy- 
five per cent. Nor was this all. This pasture came in 
the next season with the greatest luxuriance, and its 
load of beautiful green was the wonder of the neighbor- 
hood. Its effect on clover and Timothy is even greater 
than on old pastures. Many have supposed that plaster 
would exhaust the soil. That this could not be the 
case will appear from the fact that it takes four hundred 
and thirty parts of water to decompose one part of 
plaster, while its decomposition is so slow that its influ- 
ence is felt for several years. How, then, can it have 
such immediate and beneficial effects ? It is generally 
explained by saying that it retains the fertilizing gas, 
which is constantly rising from fermenting vegetable 
matter, and gives it up, at a proper time, for the nourish- 
ment of the plant. It does not, like lime, cause vege- 
table matters to decay, but rather, when they decay, 
holds their most important parts from escaping. 

The infectious odor which rises from decaying vege- 
table matter, from the stable, from the manure heap, and 
imperceptibly from the whole surface of the earth, is 
one of the most important elements for the growth of 
the plant. Plaster fixes this, and the first shower 
washes it into the earth to feed the roots of plants. 
The relative value of manure depends, in a measure, 
according to the generally received opinion on this 
subject, upon the amount of this noxious odor, or the 



372 OPINIONS OF SCIENTIFIC MEN. 

ammonia which it contains. Ammonia, commonly known 
as hartshorn, is an exceedingly powerful stimulant. 
Nor will it appear unimportant, when we bear in mind 
that two and one-quarter pounds of this ammonia, lost 
by fermentation, is equal, according to some, to the loss 
of one hundred and fifty pounds of grass or grain. 

Scientific men will say that this gas is taken up in the 
atmosphere by the rain, and descends with the rain to 
fertilize the earth; and this is probably true. This 
ammonia, so valuable, so indispensable to the earth, is 
not lost forever when it flies away into the air ; but the 
shrewd farmer will perceive that as much of it as he 
allows to escape from his own hands, by neglect, falls 
upon and improves the fields of his neighbor as much, 
and perhaps more, than his own. Is it not evident that, 
by saving all that we can, and by receiving whatever 
the genial rain brings with it, we get a double benefit? 

If the effect of plaster is such as has been described, 
no one can fail to see how important are the functions 
it may be made to perform. But it also adds a certain 
amount of lime and sulphur to the earth. It is com- 
posed of these substances for the most part, and hence 
called by chemists sulphate of lime. I shall have occa- 
sion to speak of its use in connection with other ma- 
nures in the compost heap, and I now allude to its use 
by itself, simply as a top-dressing. 

On some soils it is not so satisfactory as on others ; 
but our pastures are, many of them, covered with the 
white clover or honeysuckle, and these are often called 
clover lands. On all such lands, whether reserved for 
pasture or mowing, plaster generally has a wonderful 
influence. A bushel, or two bushels, to the acre, have 
been known to double the crop, and to add more than 
twenty times its own weight to it, while even greater 
results have followed. For, if we may believe Bous- 



USE OF CHARCOAL. 373 

singault, one of the most distinguished chemists, every 
pound of nitrogen which we add to the grass increases 
the produce one hundred and ten pounds ; and this 
increased produce of one hundred and ten pounds is 
effected by the aid of a little more than four pounds of 
gypsum, or plaster. Another accurate investigator, Sir 
Humplirey Davy, found, by actual experiment, that the 
ashes of an acre of red clover contain no less than 
three bushels of plaster of Paris. This important fact 
proves that the earth already contains a large amount 
of this substance, and that it is essential to the growth 
of clover. This may, perhaps, explain the so-called 
clover sickness in some land. The requisite supply of 
plaster has been exhausted. In any case, the addition 
of plaster to clover lands, and especially to pastures, is 
of the highest importance. 

The effect of charcoal is somewhat similar to that of 
plaster. Charcoal will absorb ninety times its own bulk 
of ammonia, which is held from escaping till it is sep- 
arated by water, and carried into the earth for the plant. 
When dry, the operation of fixing the gas is repeated, 
till the next shower sends the gas into the earth, and 
the particles of water take its place in the charcoal. In 
this way, as a top-dressing, charcoal, as well as plaster, 
performs the most important functions. If we take any 
decaying animal matter, which has begun to give off its 
offensive and noxious odor, its ammonia, and cover it 
with charcoal or plaster of Paris, this escaping gas is 
immediately stopped. No infectious odor arises from 
it. The decay of the substance has suddenly ceased. 
This simple fact will show the intelligent farmer to what 
purposes these substances may be applied. His choice 
of these should depend somewhat on the expense of 
procuring them. The relative expense depends so much 
upon circumstances, that I need not make the estimate. 
32 



374 EFFECT OF BONES. 

As an absorbent and retainer of the valuable properties 
of manure, peat mud and loam will also be found of 
essential service. If used on a high and dry soil, the 
effect of plaster will not be very apparent the first sea- 
son, unless there are frequent rains. 

There is an impression among many that plaster does 
not produce so good results in the immediate vicinity 
of the sea-shore. If this is so, it does not arise, prob- 
ably, from the proximity to the sea, but from other 
causes. Many of our lands do not need the application 
of plaster ; but I have seen it used, to the best advan- 
tage, within two miles of the sea. If there were any- 
thing in the sea air to prevent plaster from performing 
its usual functions as an absorbent, the effect would be 
perceived to a far greater distance inland. If any fail- 
ures have occurred in its use in the vicinity of the sea, 
they were probably owing to the soil rather than to the 
atmosphere. There is one other remark in this connec- 
tion. When plaster has been applied without immediate 
effect, we should not at once conclude that it is useless 
on the particular soil to which it is applied. The first 
season may be dry, and ill-adapted to its decomposition. 
In such cases good results have ordinarily followed the 
second year. 

The great utility of bones as a manure arises from 
the large amount of phosphates which they contain. 
On all pastures which have been long fed the phos- 
phate of lime is exhausted. It is constantly taken from 
the earth in the grass, to form the bone, the muscle, and 
the milk of animals. Of the earthy matter in bones, 
nearly five-sixths consist of phosphate of lime and mag- 
nesia^ Nitrogen is also abundant, and, of course, am- 
monia, for nitrogen is an element of ammonia. A few 
bushels of bone-dust will often quite restore old, " worn- 
out " pastures. Indeed, almost every part of which 



BONE-MEAL AND ASHES. 375 

bones are composed goes directly to the nourishment 
of vegetable life. The ashes of all grains are very rich 
in phosphate of lime. This shows the importance of 
furnishing this element for their use. 

A mixture of crushed bones and ashes, or leached 
ashes, forms a valuable top-dressing. Nor will this ap- 
pHcation, in small quantities, be thought expensive, if 
what is said be true, that the animal part of bones, 
which amounts to about one-third, contains eight or ten 
times as much ammonia as the manure of the cow. A 
small quantity of bone-dust will answer the purpose, in 
some respects, of a larger quantity of manure from the 
stable. We can but hope that every farmer will try 
the experiment. It may be done on a small scale at 
first, though in the vicinity of every butcher's estab- 
lishment bones can commonly be procured in any 
quantity. 

Thus far I have spoken of manures which belong 
more peculiarly on the surface, as a top-dressing for 
grass. For, though they are sometimes used, especially 
plaster, on ploughed land, with potatoes and other 
crops, yet their influence on the surface is thought to 
be far more effective. Indeed, the benefit of lime, 
plaster, and charcoal, would, in a great measure, be lost, 
were they to be buried to any depth in the earth. But 
there are other manures which are often used as top- 
dressings. 

One of the best practical farmers in the country says : 
" I top-dress almost all of my mowing in the fall, cut 
two crops on all of them, and on some a third. I make 
a compost of earth and manure ; make in the lot where 
it is used, by ploughing off a thin turf on the lower 
side of a small hill or knoll, taking the turfs to the hog- 
yard, and then cart from the stable three, five, or ten 
loads, or more, as I have the manure. Drop the manure 



376 OPINIONS OF FARMERS. 

upon the ground that the turf was removed from, then 
plough on the upper side of the hill, and shovel two 
loads of earth upon each load of manure, beginning in 
the spring, and so on through the season. As the manure 
of the barn increases, cart to the meadow, placing it 
upon the upper side of the first heap, and plough and 
shovel as before. Prom one hundred loads of good 
stable manure it makes three hundred loads of good 
compost, and will make as much grass as so many loads 
of stable manure. For grass, put ten cart-loads per 
acre. Spread in the fall upon mowing, this compost 
makes more grass than green manure, carted and 
spread upon mowing in the spring. In almost all cases 
the knoll or hill carted until it is level with the adjoin- 
ing ground produces more crop than before." 

Another writes me as follows : '' Top-dressing for 
mowing lands is very beneficial, but too expensive, if 
barn-yard manure alone is used, so much passes off" by 
evaporation. A compost of one-half or two-thirds turf, 
or swamp muck, and one-third good manure, is quite as 
beneficial to the land, and probably better or more en- 
during than all manure. If ashes aie mixed in this com- 
post, it is all the better. But, if stable manure alone, or 
in compost, is to be applied, it should be in autumn, so 
that the frosts of winter may incorporate it with the 
soil." 

Another farmer, of great experience and observation, 
says : " I top-dress generally late in the fall, but should 
prefer early spring dressing, if we could cart on the 
field without injury, and the time could be spared from 
other business. My land is chiefly of a cold, tenacious 
soil, and a compost is made of one-fourth stable manure 
and three-fourths light loam. For warm land, peat mud 
would be used instead of the loam. Twenty common 
ox-cart loads, from thirty-three to thirty-five bushels 



COMPOSITION OF POTATO-TOPS. 377 

each, to the acre, is as small a dressing as can be judi- 
ciously applied. Double that quantity would not be ex- 
cessive." " With respect to top-dressing for mowing 
lands," says another practical farmer, " I would state 
that for several years we have been in the habit of rais- 
ing from one to three acres of early potatoes for 
market. We have usually dug them early in August, 
and before the tops were dead. The tops are taken 
directly from the field, and spread on the mowing lands 
to very great advantage. We think the tops from an 
acre of potatoes sufficient to top-dress an acre of mow- 
ing land, and the effect is equal to three or four cords 
of good manure." 

The practice alluded to in this extract is worthy of a 
careful trial by those who are so situated as to adopt it. 
It is known that the tops of potatoes contain a large 
percentage of the organic elements of plants. 

Fromberg found in one hundred pounds of the leaves, 
in a natural state, from .82 to .92 per cent, of nitrogen, 
and that one hundred pounds of leaves dried contain from 
5.12 to 5.76 per cent, of nitrogen. If his results are 
correct, — and there is no reason to distrust them, — we 
add to the land fifty pounds of inorganic salts, besides 
nearly twenty pounds of nitrogen, among the organic 
constituents of every ton of potato-tops. This would 
make a ton of them equal in value more than two 
tons of the best Ichaboe guano. 

In a case which I have in mind, a very poor, worn- 
out grass lot was top-dressed with fourteen ordinary 
cart-loads of good stable manure to the acre. The 
quantity of grass was increased four-fold. Clover and 
Timothy came in as luxuriantly as on any new-laid 
piece. If the top-dressing were repeated once in five 
or six years, there would be no danger of exhaustion, 
though there would be an advantage in loosening the 

82* 



378 PRACTICAL OPINIONS. 

earth with the plough. But the use of stable manure 
should be confined mostly to mowing land. On closely- 
fed pastures it would be injudicious, from its exposure 
to the sun. On these, ashes or plaster would be better. 

One experienced farmer, in answer to the circular on 
a preceding page, says : '' Peruvian guano, mixed with 
loam, is unquestionably the best manure for top-dress- 
ing that can be found. Ashes are very good for lands 
that are liable to be washed by the fall and early spring 
rains. I should think that the spring would be the best 
time to spread it ; but on lands not so situated the fall 
would be more proper. In the latter case, the manure 
would be entirely mixed in around the roots of the 
grass, and all the strength of the manure would remain 
in the ground." 

Another experienced and intelligent practical farmer 
writes me : *' I top-dress moist mowing lands in winter 
or early spring, with eight or ten loads of fine manure, 
or with about three hundred pounds of guano, mixing 
the guano with twice its bulk of dry sand, moistened 
with water, containing about two ounces of sulphuric 
acid in solution to the gallon of water." 

No farm should be managed without a compost heap, 
since it may be so made as to form an extremely 
valuable article for top-dressing. A quantity of meadow 
mud should be dug out in the autumn for this special 
purpose, where it is practicable. Two cords of peat 
mud, added to one cord of good stable manure, will 
make, in the estimation of many practical farmers, a 
compost of three cords cff valuable manure. This has 
been tried repeatedly, and is constantly done by those 
ambitious to excel in farming. To this compost heap 
should be added, from time to time, all the animal and 
vegetable matter adapted to ferment and enrich the soil. 
Woollen rags, the remains of fish, the blood and flesh 



THE COMPOST HEAP. 379 

of animals, the hair of animals, all these make an ex- 
ceedingly rich manure. A most intelligent gentleman, 
connected with a wool factory, informs me that a cord 
of matter collected at the establishment is worth at 
least five or six cords of the best stable manure, for a 
top-dressing. This we cannot doubt ; for here are the 
blood, the wool, pieces of the skin of the animal, a little 
lime, and many other substances, all collected together. 
A fermentation takes place, by which the richest gases 
are formed. .Such a compost heap, with an addition of 
loam and mud, would be invaluable for a top-dressing. 
But, though in most cases all these substances cannot 
be procured, many of them can, and should be saved by 
every one who is desirous of improving his land. Those 
who are near the sea, or near the market, can procure 
an abundance of fish to add to the compost. Nothing 
is better for soils than this. A little lime added to the 
heap causes its rapid and thorough decomposition. 
Ashes should also be added. When additions of 
manure are made, they should be covered with mud or 
loam, to prevent waste. 

We need not enter more minutely into the details of 
forming the compost heap. It is sufficient to say, in a 
word, that everything capable of fermentation should 
be added to it. The lower layer should be of loam or 
mud. Nothing is more common among farmers, on the 
death of a horse or any other animal, than to throw the 
body away. It is estimated by some that the body of 
a single horse, when divided and mixed with peat mud 
and loam, will make a compost worth fifteen or twenty 
loads of the best and richest manure. This is, perhaps, 
too high an estimate ; but animal substances ferment 
rapidly, or rather they may be said to putrefy without 
fermenting, so quick is their decomposition. If leaves, 
grasses, moss, straw, and other substances of like 



380 USE OF LIQUID MANURES. 

nature, are used, lime will be useful in causing their 
rapid decay. When these are well fermented, the heap 
should be thrown over, and if made long and narrow, 
so as to expose the greater surface to the air, it will be 
the better. 

The value of a compost, properly made, is greater 
than the aggregate value of the several ingredients ap- 
plied separately, no matter what or how rich they may 
be. Besides, some divisor is needed for concentrated 
or other powerful manures, by means of which they 
may be more evenly and judiciously applied. Peat, or 
dry meadow muck, is one of the best and most available 
of these divisors, if properly prepared by exposure to 
the influence of air and frost. No good farmer would 
ever use lime in compost with barn-yard manure or 
animal substances, unless peat muck, gypsum, or char- 
coal, were largely used in the same mixture. 

Animals fed on rich food make far the most valuable 
manure. This will serve, in part, to show why the 
manure from the sty is so fertilizing. Swine are fed 
on a great variety of rich food. The actual profit of 
raising them arises mainly from the amount of sub- 
stances they will mix together and make into good 
manure. If the sty be supplied, at intervals, with mud, 
loam, and other vegetable matter, the farmer will not 
complain of the cost of these animals. 

Liquid manures are highly useful to grasses. Care 
should be taken to apply them, also, to the compost 
heap. The richness of manure from the sty is due to 
the quantity of liquid matter it contains. Hence the 
importance of adding a great variety of vegetable sub- 
stances, loam, and mud. In a word, it may be said that 
all liquid manures contain a large amount of nitrogen, 
which is one principal ingredient of ammonia, to which 
We have alluded. The importance of saving the liquid 



MODES OF IMPROVING PASTURES. 381 

of the stable, either with the compost or to be applied 
by itself, may be seen, also, in the fact that the exceed- 
ing richness of guano, and the manure of all fowls and 
birds, is due to the union of the liquids and solids. 

After fermentation has taken place in animal manures, 
in the compost or elsewhere, they may be spread with- 
out much loss by evaporation; and hence it matters not 
whether the top-dressing is applied in the autumn or in 
the spring. Plaster is better spread in the spring, when 
the moisture of the earth makes it immediately availa- 
ble. Some prefer the autumn for spreading compost 
manures, while others prefer the spring, just before the 
thick grass surrounds and protects them from the sun 
and wind. The soil, in autumn, is not injured by the 
loaded cart, as is liable to be the case in spring. Others, 
still, apply them after the first mowing, and before the 
summer rains. The new crop preserves the manure 
from dr3'ing up and wasting. This, however, is ordi- 
narily too busy a season to attend to it with con- 
venience. 

We have, then, these several methods of improving 
our pasture lands. First, To allow some of them to 
run to wood, or, which is far better, to plant them with 
forest trees, which should never have been entirely cut 
from them. This applies to poor, thin soils, at a dis- 
tance from the homestead, and chiefly in the older 
states, where the pastures have become exhausted or 
run out. 

Second, To plough and cultivate, where this can be 
done, on strong, good soils, which are not too stubborn 
and rocky. This applies to many lands which have 
been used as pastures time out of mind, the soils of 
which are naturally good, but have run out from neg- 
lect. Put soil into a good state of culture, and rich 
and nutritive grasses will flourish as naturally as 



382 SOWING GRASS-SEED. 

weeds. The former are nearly as spontaneous on 
good soils as the latter are on poor ones. The suc- 
cess will depend chiefly on good culture, if this mode 
is adopted. 

Third, To scarify the surface thoroughly with a 
sharp-tooth harrow, sowing on a suitable mixture of 
grass-seeds spoken of above, and then harrow and brush 
over again, the work to be done in September or very 
early in spring, if the surface is hard enough to go over 
with cattle without too much poaching. This applies 
to old pastures covered with moss, where the sweet 
grasses are run out, but which, from their particular 
location, may not be desirable for woodland, nor pay 
for a more complete and careful improvement. 

Fourth, To mix the grass-seeds as evenly as possible 
with a finely-divided compost, and use it as a top-dress- 
ing, first harrowing the surface to loosen it, and, after 
spreading the compost, brushing it over with a brush 
harrow to break up the lumps. This will cost a little 
more than the preceding method, but the grass-seed 
will start sooner, make a larger and finer growth the 
first season, and give greater satisfaction. This applies 
to very much the same class of lands as the preceding. 
In both cases, if the pasture or any part of it is cov- 
ered with bushes, they should of course be cut or 
grubbed up ; if it is wet or covered with stagnant 
waters, they should of course be drained off, so as at 
least to leave a dry and healthy surface. It is unneces- 
sary to say that the top-dressing should be free from 
weed-seed, and be in a finely divided state. This method 
of improvement is perfectly practicable on thousands of 
acres which are now in a state both discreditable and 
unprofitable to their owners. 

Fifth, To pasture sheep, turning in as many as the 
pasture will carry, — stocking, in other words, pretty 



IRRIGATING GRASS LANDS. 383 

closely, for a few years. The first objection that many 
farmers raise to this method is, that the cost of fences 
is great, and that it is a branch of husbandry Avith which 
they are not acquainted. This may be so, but the testi- 
mony of those who have tried this method is uniformly 
in its favor. I have had some experience and consid- 
erable observation in sheep husbandry, and my atten- 
tion has been called to the changes wrought by sheep 
upon rough pastures covered with bushes and briers 
in part ; and it appears to be a practicable method of 
improvement, while the raising of sheep and lambs for 
/the shambles is destined to be a profitable branch of 
farming. 

Another practicable means of improving our grass 
lands is by irrigation. Every casual observer, even, is 
familiar with the fact that lands are fertilized by irriga- 
tion, and especially that the grass by running streams 
shoots earlier in spring, and makes a far more thrifty 
growth, than lands on the same kind of soil which have 
not the advantage of running water. The introduction 
of the hydraulic ram among the implements of the farm 
off'ers facilities for irrigating grass lands not hitherto 
known; and it will unquestionably become, hereafter, an 
important means of guarding against our severe summer 
droughts, and of increasing vastly the production of 
our lands. 

It would be impossible to state with any detail the 
different methods adopted to eff'ect the objects of irri- 
gation, since it would require a distinct treatise upon 
the subject ; and it is sufficient to allude to the simplest 
mode employed with success, and the advantages 
offered. 

Superficial irrigation, which is, perhaps, the oldest 
and the most common form in which water is artifi- 
cially applied for the purpose of increasing the growth 



o8i EFFECT OF lERIGATION. 

of grass, was undoubtedly suggested by observing the 
wonderful effects arising from the overflow of rivers. 
Remarkable examples of this are familiar to many, as 
the annual or periodical overflowing of the Nile, where 
the water, without being left to stagnate upon the sur- 
face, is moving gently over it, depositing whatever allu- 
vial matter it may hold in suspension. The extraordi- 
nary richness of the valley of the Mississippi, and on a 
smaller scale of the valleys of the Connecticut and other 
rivers, is mainly due, also, to this kind of irrigation ; and 
this is imitated in our attempts to conduct water over 
grass land by a system of shallow, open diains, which 
take the water from its natural channel, keeping a con- 
stant flow, without allowing it to accumulate in any part. 

The process of surface irrigation is not so simple as 
many would suppose. It requires considerable skill and 
practice, and many failures have followed experiments 
of this kind, made without due care and attention. Sir 
John Sinclair, however, in speaking of tliis operation, 
calls it one of the " easiest, cheapest, and most certain 
modes of improving poor land, in particular if it is of a 
dry and gravelly nature. Land, when once improved 
by irrigation, is put into a state of perpetual fertility, 
without any occasion for manure, or trouble of weeding, 
or any other material expense ; it becomes so produc- 
tive as to yield the largest bulk of hay, besides abun- 
dance of the very best support for ewes and lambs in the 
spring, and for cows and other cattle in the autumn of 
every year. In favorable situations, it produces very 
early grass in the spring, when it is doubly valuable ; 
and not only is the laud thus rendered fertile without any 
occasion for manure, but it produces food for animals 
which is converted into manure to be used on other 
lands, thus augmenting that great source of fertility." 

The effect and value of irrigation do not depend 



IMPORTANCE OF DRAINAGE. 385 

altogether upon the artificial supply of moisture which 
it furnishes to the plant. " The mechanical action of 
the irrigator^ current of water, in exercising the plants, 
strengthening their organisms, keeping their stems and 
root crowns clear of obstruction, promoting the equa- 
ble circulation of water and oxygen around them, and 
causing an equable distribution of the soluble materials 
of their food, probably plays a considerable part in irri- 
gatory fertilization. The differences of effect, from the 
mere circumstance of flowing or stagnation of the water, 
are prodigious ; for, while flowing water coaxes up the 
finest indigenous grasses of the climate, and renders 
them sweet, and wholesome, and nutritious, and luxu- 
riant, stagnant water starves, deteriorates, or kills, all 
the good grasses." 

The effect which surface irrigation produces on the 
nutritive qualities of the grasses may be seen by 
reference to the tables of analyses found in a pre- 
ceding chapter. 

But, if one thing more than another may be said to 
lie at the foundation of all real improvement of grass 
lands, or lands under a course of rotation, it is a proper 
system of drainage. Especially is this important for 
low, wet lands, since it not only frees them from super- 
fluous water, thus making them more susceptible of 
tillage in early spring, but actually increases their tem- 
perature several degrees, — in some cases as much as 
from eight to ten, and rarely less than from two to four, 
— and admits the air to circulate more freely around the 
roots of the plants. The aquatic grasses require large 
and constant supplies of moisture, and when the soil is 
changed by drainage the more valuable species of grass 
may be introduced and cultivated in it. 

With regard to the management of salt marshes, 
though they cannot be under-drained, there are few 

33 



386 DITCHING SALT MARSHES. 

which cannot be ditched, and greatly improved, by the 
introduction of a better quality of" grasses than those 
usually found there. The following statement of one 
of the most intelligent practical farmers of the country 
will show what may be done in this direction : 

The marsh was one which never had been ditched. 
"I purchased it," says he, "in 1840, which year it pro- 
duced rather less than half a ton per acre of poor, 
short, wiry hay, worth but little more than the cost of 
cutting and curing. In the autumn of that j'ear, I hired 
faithful laborers, well skilled in the business, to cut 
ditches over the whole lot, two rods apart,- eight inches 
wide and three feet deep ; the sods taken out were laid 
in piles, to prevent the tide from washing them away. 
The two following winters, they were taken upon a 
sled to the cattle-yard, where they remained until the 
roots of grass contained in them were decayed, so as 
to break in pieces readily. For manure, and as an 
absorbent, they are as valuable, as the best of meadow 
muck or peat. I paid for ditching the entire lot ninety 
dollars ; more than one hundred cords of sods were 
dug out and carted away, which I consider worth as 
much to me as the sum paid for ditching. They were 
placed in the barn-yard, in a compact form, to insure 
a proper degree of moisture and cause a speedy 
decomposition, and afterwards mixed with animal 
manures. 

" Three years after ditching, the produce was double, 
— full one ton per acre was cut, of an improved qual- 
ity, — since which it has annually increased. This year 
the produce, as estimated by good judges, was two tons 
per acre, including about five tons of second crop, cut 
from the best part of the marsh. As an evidence of 
the quantity cut this year, I would state that the prod- 
uce has been sold for three hundred dollars in cash, 



WELL BEGUN, HALF WELL DONE. 387 

after the owner had used nearly one ton for feed for 
his C0W8, the purchaser agreeing to take it at the barn 
where it is now stored. 

"I consider salt hay, when cut from marshes that 
have been ditched, where the grass is thick and the yield 
large, to be worth as much as the average of upland 
hay ; that cows thrive as well, and give as much milk, 
as when fed with Timothy grass and clover hay. It is 
my belief that all marshes can be made more produc- 
tive by thorough draining, at a very small expense. I 
intend, next autumn, to cut ditches upon my own 
marsh between those heretofore made. My opinion 
is unchanged, that the sods are worth as much as the 
expense of ditching, when within one mile of the farm 
where they are to be used." 

This subject ought to receive the careful attention 
of the enterprising farmer. Even a farmer of very 
limited means may do something each year towards 
improving his pasture lands. He may lessen the area 
of the bushes; he may plough up a small piece, at least, 
and seed down at once with grass-seed and winter rye, 
either in the spring or in the fall, and in either case his 
stock will fare enough better to pay for it ; and the 
next year he may take another piece in the same pas- 
ture, till the whole is finished, when it will carry niore 
stock, and more stock will give him more manure, and 
more manure will increase the fertility of other lands, 
and increased fertility will add to his means of further 
improvement. The difficulty with most small farmers 
is to begin. Well begun is half well done ; for, the 
moment any real improvement is begun in earnest, 
the interest is excited, the mental activity is in- 
creased, the desire for improvement partakes the 
nature of a passion ; and hence, though the begin- 



388 THE CONCLUSION. 

ning may be small, the ending may be the renovation 
of the owner as well as the land. 

CONCLUSION. 

In conclusion, I have another suggestion to make, 
as to the propriety of encouraging the collection of 
grasses for exhibition at the anniversary festivals of 
our agricultural societies. It would be an easy thing, 
I think, to engage many in this fascinating pursuit. 
Some, undoubtedly, would be interested by the simple 
suggestion, but the offer of small premiums for the 
largest and best-arranged collection would induce 
others to attempt it who now want something to stim- 
ulate them to the work. The premium, however small, 
might afford the necessary stimulus ; and, if an interest 
were once excited, the subject would be still further 
pursued, till many others were interested, while the 
collections, if properly named, would do much to dis- 
seminate a higher knowledge of the exhaustless riches 
of this class of plants. 

" The royal rose, the tulip's glow, 

The jasmine's gold, are fair to see ; 
But while the graceful grasses grow, 
0, gather them for me ! 

•• The pansy's gold and purple wing, 

The snow-drop's smile, may light the lea ; 
But while the fragrant grasses spring. 
My wreath of them shall be ! " 



INDEX OF SYSTEMATIC NAMES. 



Page 

Agrostis stolonif^ra, 17, 43 

" perennaus, 39 

« vulgaris, 12, 35, 40 

" alba, 42 

" canina, 39, 42 

" 8cabra, 39 

*' dUpar, 44 

" elata, 38 

Anthoxanthum odoratum, 132, 222 

Aira flexuosa, 120 

" csepitosa, 121,206 

" aquatica, 123 

" atrupui'purea, 123 

Alopecurus ]."'iit>^n3i3, 30, 222 

" agrestis, 31 

" geniculatus, 33, 207 

" ari;stulatus, 33 

Ammophila arunclinacua, 49, 207 

Audropogoa furcatus, 148 

" scoparius, 149 

" argenteus, 149 

" Virginicus, 149 

Arena pratensis, 125, 206 

" flavescens, 126, 222 

" striaU, 126 

" praecox, 127 

" sativa, 127, 171 

Aristida dichotoma, 59 

" * gracilis, 59 

" raraosissima, 59 

" tuberculosa, 60 

" stricta, 59 

" purpurascens, 59 

" oligaiiclia, 60 

Arrhenatherum avenaceum, .... 127, 222 

Arundinaria macrosperma, 110 

Bouteloua oligostachya, .... 62, 249, 258 

" hirsuta, 62 

" curtipeiidula, 62 

Brachyelytrutn aristatuin, 48 

Briza media, 96, 222 

" maxima, 96 

Brizopyrum spicatum, 80 

Bromus secaliiius, 102, 103, 105 

racemosus, 102, 106 

mollis, 102, 197, 2J2 

kalmii, 107 

sterilis, 108 

ciliatus 107 

pratensis, 108 

Calamagrostis Canadensis, 48 

" coarctata, 48 

" inexpansa, 49 

33* 



Page 

Calamagrostis Pickeringii, 49 

" brevipilis, 49 

" longilolia, 49 

" areiiaria, 49 

Cenchrus tribuloides, 147 

Cinna arundinacea, 45 

'' pendula, 46 

Ctenium Araericanum, 61 

Cynosurus cristatus, 137, 222 

Cynodon dactylon, 63, 254 

Cyperacea;, 200 

Dactylocteniura Egyptiacum, 63 

Dactylis glomerata, ... 12, 43, 66, 111, 206 

Datithonia spiuata, 123 

Diouea niuscipula, 27 

Diari-heua Americana, 66 

Dupontia cooleyi, 66 

Katiinia Peimsylvanica, 70 

Eleusine Indica, 64 

Elymus, arenarius, 119 

" Virginicus, 118 

" Canaileusis, 119 

" striatus, 119 

" mollis 119 

" Hystrix, 120 

Eragrostis reptans 92 

" poiBoides, 93 

" mesiastachya, 93 

" pilosa, 93 

" capillarig, 94 

" pectinacea, 94 

" Frankli, 94 

" tenuis, 94 

Erianthus alopecuroides, 148 

" brevibarbis, 148 

Festuca tenella, 96 

" ovina 97, 206 

" pratensis, 99 

" elatior, 100, 206 

" duriuscula, 97, 206, 222 

" rubra, 97 

" loliacea, 101 

" nutans, 101 

Qlyceria Canadensis, 71 

" obtusa, 71 

" distans, 79 

" elongata, 73 

" nervata, 73 

" pallida, 74 

" acutiflora, 77 

" aquatica, 75, 207 

" fluitans 75, 207 

" maritima, 77, 199, 20T 

(389) 



390 



INDEX OF SYSTEMATIC NAMES. 



Page 

Gymnopogon brevifolius, 63 

" racemosus, 62 

Hedysarum onoln-ychis, 191 

Hierochloa borealis, 131 

" alpiua, 132 

Holcus lanatus, 129, 222 

" mollis, 131 

Hordeum jubaturn, 117 

" distichum, 118, 164 

« vulgaie, 118, 163, 164 

" pusillum, 118 

Juiicacese, 198 

Juncus bulbosus, 77, 198, 207 

Kffileria ci'istata, 70 

" truncata, 70 

Leersia oi-yzoides, 26, 207 

" Virgiiiica, 26 

" leiiticularis, . 27 

Leptochloa mucroiiata, 64 

" fascicularis, 64 

Lepturus paniculatus, 110 

Lolium p-renne, 110, 222 

" Italicum, 112 

" temuleiitum, 112,115 

" multifioruui, 115 

Medicago sativa, 189, 223 

Melica inutica, 71 

Milium effusuin, 137 

Muhlenbergia diffusa, 47 

" Rlouierata, 46 

" Mexicana, 46 

" sylvatica, 47 

" snbolifera, 46 

" Willdenovii, 47 

" capillaris, 47 

Oryzopsis melanncai-pa, 55 

" asperifolia, 56 

" Canadensis, 56 

Oriza sativa, 27, 156 

Paaicum filifurme, 140 

" glabrum, 140 

" saniruiiiale, 140 

" agr )stiiides, 141 

" prolifarura, 141 

" capillare, 141 

" anceps, 140 

" amarum, 142 

" autumnale, 141 

" pauciflorum, 143 

" dicbotomum, 144 

" depauperatum, 144 

" verrucosum, 144 

" viritatum, 141 

" latifolium, 142 

" clandestinum, 142 

" xanthophysum, 142 

" crus-galli, 144 

" germanicum, 145 

" viscidum, 142 

" miliaceum, 142 

Paspaluin fluitans 139 

" digitaria, 140 

" liBve, 139 

" distichum, 139 

" setaceum, 139 

Phalaris arundinacea, . . . 105, 134, 206 

" Canariensis, 137 

Plileum pmtense 12, 17, 34, 222 



Page 

Phleum alpinum, 36 

fliragmites cummunis, . . . 109, 207, 258 

Poa serotina, 73, 81 

" pi-atensis, ... 67, 80, 85, 88, 222, 258 

" compressa, 91 

" annua, 13, 14, 80, 222 

" tiivialis, 85, 222 

" nemoralis, 84 

" laxa, 80 

" brevifolia, 81 

" flexuusa, 81 

" alsodes, §1 

" debilis, 81 

" sylvestris, 81 

Polypo^ou Dionspeliensis, 45 

Saccliarum tifficiiiaiun), 152 

Sccale cereale, 118,168 

betaria vtrticillata, 146 

" glauca, 146 

" viiidis, '. . . . 146 

" Itiilica, ]46 

Sorghum saccharatum, 150 

" nif:rum, 150 

" nutans, ]49 

" vulgaie, 150, 254 

Spartina cyiiosuroides, 60 

" jiolystHchya, 60, 207 

" glabra, 61 

" ' attrniflora, 61 

" juncea, 61, 207 

" stricta, 61, 207 

Sporobolus serotinus, 38 

" junceus, 37 

" lieterolepis, 37 

" ciyptandrua, 38 

" ccmpressus, 38 

Stipa avenacea, 58 

Stipa pennata, 67 

" Ricbardsonii, 57 

" spartea, 58 

Tricuspis purpurea, 65 

" Besleroides, 65 

" cornuta, 65 

Trifolium pratense, 185, 223 

" repens, 188, 223 

" medium, 189, 223 

" hybridum, 189 

Triglochin pallustre, 197 

" maritimum, 197 

" elatum, 197 

Trisetum moUe, 124 

« pallustre, 125 

" pubesoens, 125, 222 

Triticum repens, 115, 116 

" caninum, . 117 

« vulgare, 117,158 

" compositum, 117 

Tripsacum dactyloides, 147 

Uniola paniculata, 108 

" latifolia, 109 

" gracilis, 109 

Vilfa aspera, 37 

" vagina^flora, 37 

Xyris bulbosa, 199 

" caroliniana, 199 

Zea mays, 154, 174 

Zizania aquatica, 28, 207 

" miliacca, 29 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Aftermath, growth and use of the, 31,36,87,91,351,353,354 

Agricultural Museum, collections for the, 10 

Agricultural Societies should offer prizes for collections, 388 

Albuminous Principles, 222, 224, 226, 228, 234 

Alfalfa, culture of, 189, 190, 192 

Allen's Mower, illustration of, 314 

Alpine Brown Bent, natural history of, 39 

Alpine Reed Bent, description, 49 

Alsyke Clover, characteristics of, '. • 189 

Ammonia, importance of, 371, 372, 374 

Analysis of the Grasses, 23, 218, 224, 226, 228, 231 

" " Weeds 234 

Annual Spuar Grass 13, 14, 80 

Annual Beard Grass, description, 45 

Arrow Grasses, list of the, 197 

Ash of the Grasses, analysis of, 231,233 

Ashes, use of as manure, 367,369 

Atmosphere, elements of the, 203, 210 

Awned Brachyelytruiu, description of, 48 

Awnless MuLileubergia, natural history of, 46 

Barley, composition of, 163,167,168 

" description and culture of, 163, 165, 167 

" climatic range of, 261, 263 

Barley Grass, description of, 118 

Barn Grass, description of, 144 

Beach Grass, natural history of, 49 

" " culture of. 50, 52, 55, 290 

Beard Grasses, natural history of the, ••• 1'^^ 

Bearded Darnel, seeds of poisonous, 115 

Bearded Wheat Grass, description, 117 

Benefit of Mr. Dobbs, 323 

Bengal Grass, description of, 146 

Bermuda Grass, natural history of, 63, 254, 258 

Black Grass, description and value of, 198 

Black Mountain Rice, natural history of, 55 

Black Oat Grass, description of, 58 

Blossoming, period of, 278, 290 

Blue Grass, natuial history of, 91 

Blue Joint Grass, description of, 48 

Bones, value of as manure, 374, 375 

Burden's Grass 40 

Bottle Brush Grass, description, 120 

Bottle Grass, natural history of, 146 

Branching Spear Grass, 94 

Bristly Foxtail, description of, 146 

Bristly Muskit, natural history of, 62 

Broom Corn, description of, 150 

(391) 



392 GENERAL INDEX. 

Brown Bent, natural history of, 39 

Buffalo Grass on the prairies, 249,252,258 

Bur Grass, description of, 147 

California, grasses of, 196, 251, 255 

Canadian Lyme Grass, description of, 119 

" Riee, natural history of, 56 

Cane, natural history of the, 110 

Catcli-Fly Grass, description of, 27 

Cerealia, description of the, 155, 158, 163, 168, 171 

" importance of the, 155 

" climatic range of the, 259, 261, 263 

Charcoal, use of as a manure, 373 

Cheap Implements, economy of, 310 

Chess, natural history of, 102 

" cultivation as Willard's Bromus, 104, 105, 106 

Chinese Sugar-Cane, natural history of, 150, 151, 152, 338 

Circular Letter on the Grasses, 243-245 

Climate, effect of on vegetation, 184, 239, 241, 255, 257, 260, 262 

" range of for grasses, 246, 254, 255, 260 

" " " " grains, 259, 261, 262 

Close-flowered Small Reed, description of, 49 

Clover, comparative value of, 185, 226, 228, 230, 335 

" mode of curing, 335, 337 

" effect of on the soil, 210, 285 

" Seed, time of sowing, 187, 296, 297 

Clustered Spear Grass, description, 79 

Clustering Muhlenbergia, natural history of, 46 

" Slender Grass, description, 64 

Common Canary Grass, culture of, 135 

" Manna Grass, description of, 75 

" Millet 142, 143 

" Reed Grass, natural history of, 109, 207, 258 

" Spear Grass 87, 89, 91 

Composition of the Grasses, 224, 227, 229 

Compost, modes of forming, . .378,379,382 

" value of greater than its separate parts, 380 

Corn Fodder, curing of, 338, 339 

Couch Grass, natural history of, 115, 116 

Cows, experiments in feeding, 105, 106 

Cow Grass, description of, 189 

Creeping Meadow Grass, description of, 92 

" Soft Grass, natural history of, 130, 131 

Crested Dog's-tail, description of, 137, 138, 224, 227 

Crop Grass, description of, 64 

Crowded Calaraagrostis, description of, 48 

Cut Grass, natural history of, 26 

Cutting Grass in the blossom, 136, 299, 301, 303, 307 

" " modes of, 307,308,310,313,320 

Darnel, or Perennial Rye Grass, 110, 111 

Division Fences on the Farm, 316, 318 

Downy Oat Grass, 125 

" Triple Awn, description of, 59 

" Persoon, natural history of, 124 

Drainage, importance of, 385 

Drought, effect of on vegetation, 294, 296 

Dupontia Grass, description of, 66 

Early Wild Oat Grass, description of, 127 



GENERAL INDEX. 393 

Egyptian Grass, description of, , . 63 

Eltiuientij of respiration, 2'2'i 

English Bent, natural history of, 42 

Essential parts of the plant, 12, 16 

Evaporation from the soil, 240, 241, 381 

Fall Feeding, practice of, 351, 353, 354 

" Seeding, 294, 296, 298 

False Kedtop, natural history of, 81 

*' Rice, description of, 26 

Feather Urass, natural history of, 57 

Fertilization, process of, 15 

Field Barley Grass, 118 

Finetop, 40 

Finger Grass, description of, 140 

Finger-shaped Paspalum, where found, 140 

Finger-spiked Wood Grass, description of, 148 

Florin, natural history of, 43 

Flesh-forming elements 136, 220, 221, 225, 228, 230 

Floating Meadow Grass, description of, 75 

" Foxtail, natural history of, 33 

" Paspalum, where found, 139 

Flour of Wheat, composition of, 162, 163 

Flowers of the Grasses, 12, 13, 14, 16, 22, 25 

Fly-away (irrass, description of, 39 

Food of Animals, nutritive value of, 219, 221, 225, 235 

Forest Trees, culture of, 360, 361 

Fowl Meadow Grass, description of, 81 

Fresh Water Cord Grass, where found, 60 

Fringed Brome Grass, description of, 107 

Gama Grass, description of, 147 

Genus and Species, distinction between, 17 

Goose Grass, description of, 77, 79 

Grains, climatic range of, 259, 296 

" and Grasses sown together, 294, 296 

Gramineas, the order, 11, 16, 25 

Gramma Grasses, history and distribution of, 62, 249, 254, 258 

Grasses, adapted to green manuring, 209,211,213 

" analysis of the, 23, 136, 218, 224, 2y6, 228, 331 

" changes in the growth of, 302,303, 329 

" classification of, 11, 183, 205, 207, 216 

" climatic range of, 246, 254, 255 

" collection of, 10, 388 

" cultivation of the, 183, 184, 186, 268 

" description of the, 11, 26, 154 

" effect of soil and seasons on, 239, 241, 247 

" flowers of the, 12, 13, 14, 16, 22, 25 

" green manuring, 56, 209, 211, 214 

" growth of in sun and shade, 255, 256 

" height of cutting, 326, 327 

" importance of the, 9, 205 

" list of the natural, 17, 18, 20, 22, 222 

" mixtures of the, 268, 278 

" nutritive value of the 217 

" of the Southern States, 253, 254, 255 

" studying the, 16, 17, 22, 388 

" the artificial, 183, 223 

« the litter, , 215 



394 GENERAL INDEX. 

Grasses, the rush-like, 197, 198 

" time of sowing the, 291,296,298 

" " " cutting the 299, 301, 306, 333 

Grass Lands, drainage of, 385, 386 

" " treatment of, 351, 3G3, 375, 377, 383 

" " top-dressing of, 328, 364, 365, 375, 381 

" Seed, deptli of covering, 271, 273 

" « germination of, 265, 266, 270, 271 

" " loss of from too deep covering, 271, 273 

" " mode of buying, 270 

" " selection of, 264, 265, 267 

" " time of sowing, 294, 296, 298 

" " weight of, 270, 271, 273 

Green Manuring, importance of, 56, 20t), 211, 214 

" " modes of, 210, 211, 214 

Green Meadow Grass, 87, 88 

Growth, peculiarities of, 206, 239, 240, 329 

Guano as a top-dressing, 356, 378 

Guinea Grass, description of, 150, 254, 258 

Hair-panicled Meadow Grass, 94 

Hair Grass, 39, 47 

Hairy Muskit, description of, 62 

" Slender Paspalum, 139 

Hay, nutritive value of, 329 

" curing of, , 315,329,332,334 

" Caps, use of, 346,347, 349 

" " permanent, 349, 350 

Hard Fescue Grass, description of, 97 

Heat-forming elements, 223,319,321 

Holy Grass, description of, 131 

Horned Sand Grass, description of, 65 

Horse-rake, u<e of the, 341, 342 344, 346 

Humidity, eilect of, 242, 255, 257 

Hungarian Grass, description of, 145 

Imitation of nature, 269, 293 

Indian Corn, climatic range of, 259, 261 

" " composition of, 177 

" " culture of, 178, 180, 181, 259, 338, 339 

" " importance of, 176 

" " natural history of, 154, 174, 175, 176 

" " stooking and curing of, 339^ 340 

" " varieties of, 178 

" Grass, description of, 149 

" Millet, natural history of, 150 

" Rice, description of, 27, 28 

Irrigation, effect of, 383, 385 

" process of, 384 

Italian Rye Grass, description of, 112 

«' " " comparative value of, 113 

Joint Grass, description of, 139 

June Griiss, natural history of, 87, 88 

" " qualities of, 89, 90, 91 

Jungle Grasses, list of, 206 

Kentucky Blue Grass, description of, 87, 88 

" " " qualities of, 89, 91 



GENERAL INDEX. 395 

Large-panicled Vilfa, description of, 38 

Late Drop Seed, natural iiistory of, 38 

Lawn Grasses, mixture of, 282, 283, 284 

Lime in the Grasses, 232 

" application of, 234, 365, 367 

Liquid Manures, value of, 380 

Long-awned Poverty Grass, natural history of, 60 

Long-panicled iManna Grass, description of, 73 

Lucerne, culture of, 189, 190, 192 

" description of, 

Lyme Grass, natural history of, 118 

Machine and hand labor, 310,312,313,315 

Many-fioweied Darnel, description of, 115 

Manny's Mower, illustrated, 317 

Manures for Grass Lands, 359, 362, 365, 367, 374 

Marsh Oat Grass, description of, 125 

Meadow Drome Grass, description of, 108 

" Fescue " " " 99 

" Foxtail " " « 30 

" " " value of, for pastures, 31 

" Oat Grass, description of, 125 

" Soft " " " 129, 130 

" Spear Grass, " " 72, 73 

" or Swale Hay 199,200 

Melic Grass, description of, 71 

Millet, description and culture of, 142, 143 

Millet Grass, natural Iiistory of, 137 

Mixtures of Grass Seed, 263, 266, 273, 277, 278, 291, 293 

" " soils, importance of, 263, 364 

Moisture and Heat, effect of, 239,241,264 

Mountain Cat's-tail, description of, 36 

Mowing, height of, 326, 327, 328 

Mowing-machines, use of, 308, 310, 312, 313, 315, 318 

" " management of, 320,321 

Muck-beds in low grounds, 204, 205 

Muskit or Gramma Grasses, 62, 251, 258 

Naked Beard Grass, description of, 62 

Nimble Will, description of, 47 

Nitrogen, importance of in food, 219, 235 

Nitrogenous compounds, 136, 219, 220, 235 

Nodding Fescue Grass, description of, 101 

Nutritive equivalents, tables of, 235, 236 

Oats, natural history and culture of, 171 

" quantity necessary to sow, 173 

" varieties of, 171 

Obtuse Spear Grass, description of, 71 

Orchard Grass, natural history of, 12, 66, 68, 69 

Over-curing of grasses injurious, 330 

Over-seeding with few species, 273, 275, 276, 292 

Pale Manna Grass, description of, 74 

Pasture Grasses 277, 278, 280 

Pastures, turf of old, 274, 278 

" renovation of 355, 357, 359, 362, 381, 383 

" top-dressings for 328, 362, 367, 375 

Perennial Rye Grass, description of, 110 

Pennsylvanian Eatonia, description of, 70 



396 GENERAL INDEX. 

Phosphates taken from the soil, 231 

Plants, number of in the turf, 274, 276, 278 

Plaster of Paris, use of, 370, 372, 374 

Porcupine Grass, natural history of, 58 

Potato-tops, composition of, 377 

Poverty Grass, description of, 59 

Praiiie Triple Awn, description of, 60 

Prolific Kice, description of, 29 

Pungent Meadow Grass, 93 

Purple Alpine Hair Grass, 123 

" Wood Grass, 149 

" Wild Oat Grass 126 

Quaking Grass, description of, 96 

Rains, distribution of, 242 

Rattlesnaka Grass, natural history of, 71 

Reaper, history and use of the, 322,324,325 

Redtop, description of, 40, 331 

Red Clover, natural history of, 185, lb6, 282 

" " curing of, 335, 337 

Reed Canary Grass, 105, 106, 133, 134, 136 

" " " nutritive value of, 136 

Red Fescue Grass, natural history of, 97 

Rhode Island Bent, description of, 40 

Rice, history and culture of, 27, 156, 158 

Richardson's Feather Grass, 57 

Rough-leaved Vilfa, description of, 37 

" Marsh Grass, natural history of, 61 

" stalked Meadow Grass, description of, 85 

Rush-like Grasses, list of, 239, 241, 260 

" Salt Grass, description of, 61 

Salt Marshes, ditching of, 386, 387 

" Marsh Grass, natural history of, 61 

" Reed " description of, 60 

Sainfoin, history and culture of, , . . 194, 195 

Saiid Grass, description of, 65 

Scythe, use of the 307, 320 

Sea Spear Grass, description of, 77, 79 

Seasons, influence of, 239, 241, 260 

Sedges, description and list of, 199, 200, 203, 204 

Seed, selection of, 179, 263 

" quantity to be sown, 173, 278, 286 

" vitality of, 263, 2G6 

Seneca Grass, description of, 131 

Shade, effects on the quality of grass, 239, 241, 264 

Sheep's Fescue Grass, natural history of, 97 

Sheep, effect of on the pasture, 382, 383 

Short-leaved Beard Grass, 63 

" " Spear " 81 

" stalked Meadow Grass, 95 

Silicates taken from the soil, 231, 232 

Slender-tail Grass, natural history of, 110 

" Spike Grass, description of, 109 

" Meadow " " " 93 

" Three-awned Grass, description of, 69 

" Foxtail, natural history of, 31 

" Crab Grass, description of, 140 

" Spiked Fescue, " " 101 



GENERAL INDEX. 397 

Slender Hairy Lyme Grass^ natural history of, 119 

Small Fescue, description of, 96 

Smooth Marsh Grass, " " 61 

" Erect Paspalum, description of, 139 

" Crab Grass, natural history of, 140 

Snow, eflect of on grasses, 257, 263 

Soft Brome Grass, natural history of, 107 

" Lyme " description of, 119 

Soil, effect on the grasses, 12 

Soils, mixture of, 263, 264 

Sorgho Sucre, description and culture, 150, 152, 338 

Southern Eragrostis, natural history of, 95 

Specimens of Grasses, collection of, 10, 388 

Spring Wheat, varieties of, 100, 162 

Squirrel-tail Grass, description of, 117 

Spike Grass, natural history of, 80, 108 

Star Grasses, list of the 199 

Starch, transformation into woody fibre, 302, 329, 330 

Striped Grass 133, 134, 135, 136 

Sterile Brome Grass, description of, 108 

Strong-scented Vilfa, natural history of, 37 

" " Meadow Grass, 93 

Stocking of corn, practice of, i . 339, 340 

Swale Grass, 199^ 204 

Sweet-scented Vernal Grass, 132, 133, 134 

Swale Hay, value of, 199, 204, 233 

Sylvan Muhlenbergia, history of, 47 

" Spear Grass, description of, 81 

Tall Fescue Grass, description of, 100 

" Oat " natural history of, I'i" 

" Redtop, description of, 65 

" Thin Grass, " " 39 

Technical terms, use of, 12, 14, 16, 17 

Temperature of wheat districts, 241 

Tbree-awned Grass, description of, 59 

Tickle Grass, " " 39 

Time of sowing grass-seed, 294, 296, 298 

Timothy, description of, 12, 17, 34, 332 

" sown with clover, 35 

" time of cutting, 299, 301, 303, 305 

Toothache <irass, natural history of, 61 

Top-dressing of grass lands, 328, 362, 367, 375, 376 

Treatment of grass lands, 351, 355, 362, 381, 385 

Truncated Kreleria, natural history of, 70 

Tufted Hair Grass, description of, 121 

Twin Grass, natural history of, 66 

Twitch " " " " 115, 116 

Upright Sea Lyme Grass, description of, 119 

Vanilla Grass, description of, 131 

Vegetation, conditions of, 239, 240 

Velvet Grass, natural history of, 129, 130 

Vilfa, rough-leaved, 37 

" hidden-flowered, 37 

Virginia Cut Grass, description of, 26, 27 

Water Hair " " " 123 

" Spear " natural history of, 75 

34 



B98 GENERAL INDEX. 

Wavy Meadow Grass, 80 

Weak Meadow Grass, 81 

Weeds, analysis of, 234 

Wheat, natural history of, 117 

" culture of, 158, 160, 163, 281 

" composition of, 162 

" climatic range of, «... 261, 263 

White Clover, description and culture of, 188 

" Grass, natural history of, 26 

" Top, " " " . 42, 123 

" Mountain Rice, 56 

Wild Water Foxtail, 33 

" Chess, description of, 107 

" Oat Grass, natural history of, 123 

Winter Wheat, effect of snow on, 263 

Wire Grass, 91 

Wild Rice, description of, 28 

Woburn Experiments, account of the, 218 

Wood Hair Grass, natural history of, 120 

" Reed " description of, 45 

" Meadow Grass, 84 

" Spear " 81 

Woolly Beard Grass, description of, 148 

Yellow Oat " " " 126 

Yellow-eyed Grasses, list of, 199 



MILCH COWS AND DAIRY FARMING. 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO. 

13 'VrXlST'rJBTl SXI^EET, BOSTOlSr, 
HAVE JUST PUBLISHED A NEW WORK ON 

MILCH cows AND DAIRY FARMING; 

A TREATISE ON THE 

Breeds, Breeding, Selection, and Management of Dairy 
Stock; with a full explanation of Guenon's Method 
of Selecting Cows ; the Diseases of Cows and Calves ; 
the Milk, Butter, and Cheese Dairies, including the 
modes of making the most celebrated varieties of 
English, Dutch, and Italian Cheese ; with a Treatise 
on the Dutch Dairy, translated from the German. 

By CHARLES L. FLINT, 

SECRETARY OP THE MASS. STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 

Fully and Beautifully Illustrated with 130 Engravings. 

1 vol. 12mo, 416 pages. Price $1.25. 

For Sale by Booksellers and Periodical Agents throughout the country. 



From a multitude of notices, all expressing great satisfaction with 
the practical manner in which the whole subject is treated, we select 
and condense the following 

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

We recommend the work to every one who keeps a cow, or intends 
to do so. — Ohio Farmer. 

We recommend it as a matter of economy; because, if studied, it 
cannot fail to impart facts of more value to most dairymen and dairy- 
women than several times its cost. — New England Farmer. 

It fills a very important place in the agricultural text-books of this 
country, and should be in the hands of every owner of a cow. — Vt. 
Stock Journal. 

The most valuabl-e book for universal use among farmers that has 
ever been published in this country. There is scarcely anything 
worth knowing about how to select a cow, how to treat her, and how 
to make butter and cheese, that cannot be found in this volume. — 
New York Tribune. 



NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



As a sound and useful volume, we take pleasure in commending it 
cordially to our readers. It can but rank as a standard American 
dairy-book, — the best, we have no hesitation in saying, yet issued 
upon the subject. — Country Gentleman. 

The committee would earnestly recommend to the perusal of all 
farmers a very valuable work recently issued from the press, by 
Charles L. Flint, Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of 
Agriculture, entitled " Milch Cows and Dairy Farming." They will 
find it filled with details of the most interesting and valuable facts and 
suggestions. — Com. of the Essex Co. (Mass.) Agricultural Society. 



A PRACTICAL TREATISE 

GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS, 

Comprising their Natural History, Comparative Nutritive 

Value, Modes of Cultivating, Cutting, and Curing, 

and the Management of Grass Lands. 

By CHARLES L. FinfT, 

SECRETARY OF THE MASSACHrSETTS STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE ; HEMBER 
OF THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY, ETC. ETC. 

PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO. 

n WINTER STREET, BOSTON. 



,oi>ii<Tionsrs of the dpi^ess. 

One of the most valuable essays ever printed. — New York Tribune. 
The most complete American popular treatise we ever read. — 
Ohio Cultivator. 

The work is an eminently practical one, illustrated by more than 
one hundred engravings of the various grasses, implements, &c., and 
should be in every farmer's hands. — Homestead, Hartford, Conn. 

The author has treated the subject in the proper manner, making 
his treatise perfectly comprehensible to tlie ordinary intellect, and at 
the same time so full of accurate details that it will be valuable to 
the scientific student as a work of reference. — New York Times. 

The work is a valuable contribution to the agricultural literature 
of the day. — Boston Vet. Journal. 

One of the most practical and valuable treatises on the subject of 
grasses and forage plants ever published. — Rural New Yorker. 

This is, we think, the best treatise of the kind we have ever seen 
on this important subject. — Agriculturist, Neio York. 




